Unhinged 2: Til the Flame Burns Out
by nikki13088
Summary: Sequel to Unhinged. Ginny and Draco's lives are a lot different 17yrs after they defeated Lucius. Their two oldest children have developed the same powers they have and are struggling to adjust to them as well as their lives after Hogwarts. Ginny and Draco will soon have to step in when an unexpected threat turns their lives upside down as well as their children's.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the sequel to Unhinged, so if you haven't read the first Unhinged I would definitely so that =D I am so excited to write this I hope you guys enjoy it!**

"Now, Dad?"

"No, not yet...just a little while more," he said, holding his finger up for him to wait as he scanned the field ahead of him.

"Now?"

"Just be patient a little longer, son." Draco squinted his eyes until he finally saw her peek her head out and he gave his son a side glance. "NOW!"

Scorpius quickly threw his hand out and shot two balls of ice towards the two fireballs his sister Ember shot at him. He watched them both collide and turn into nothing more than a small cloud of steam. He then placed his hand on the ground and made it start to ice over as Ember went to run at him, causing her to lose her balance and slip.

"YES!" Scorpius shouted, giving his dad a high five.

Ember came stomping up to them both, her expression livid. "What the hell, Dad? You're helping him again, how is that fair?"

"Relax, Ember, I'm just showing him-"

"All my giveaways? Yeah, I noticed." She stormed off, whipping her hair around so fast that a fiery flame flew off the end of her strands.

"She's pretty mad Dad."

"Scorpius, she's always mad," he said, watching her slam the back door to the Manor. "Come on, dinner should be just about ready."

Dinner at the Manor was one of Draco's favorite parts of the day. He loved the chaotic scene that always unfolded with the kids around them. A lot of it was amusing the way they all constantly argued with each other, but sometimes he would just sit there and think about how lucky he was.

"Draco, can you please take her for a moment?" Ginny asked, passing the baby to him. "I swear if I have to call her one more time...HARPER!" she yelled out.

Ginny saw Scorpius walking past the kitchen and she quickly stopped him. "Take this on your way to the dining room," she said, handing him a giant plate full of chicken.

"I thought your parents were coming?" Draco asked, wiping Ava's runny nose with his sleeve.

"They were, but Dad's not having one of his good days, so they are going to stay home tonight," she explained with a sigh, leading the way to the dining room.

Draco placed Ava in her high chair before he took a seat beside her.

"Where is Harper? HARPER! GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE FOR DINNER!" Ginny screamed again.

"She's coming, she's was outside flying again," Aurora said, taking a seat across from Ember.

"And Ellie?" Ginny asked as she started serving everyone.

Aurora just shrugged.

Ginny was ready to call their names out again as they both walked into the dining room.

"Harper why are you out on the Quidditch pitch again? You still have one day left of your punishment."

"I thought it was shortened because of good behavior?" she said with an innocent shrug.

"Yeah, I bet," Ginny said through clenched teeth. "Draco, that's too hot for Ava," she nodded towards the food the baby was grabbing for that Draco cooled off with his powers just as she took a bite.

Draco couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face at Harper's sarcasm, she constantly tried to get one over on them and most times she did. He looked around the table at all his kids and then at Ginny...she was an amazing mother to all seven of their children. Draco knew when he married Ginny he wanted a house full of kids and here he had it. Ginny always made it sound like she would have been fine with only four, but he could tell how much she enjoyed being a mother. He found that to be one of the most amazing things about her.

Ember and Scorpius were seventeen and only had a few months left before their eighteenth birthdays. Ember looked exactly like Ginny but had her father's eyes and Scorpius looked exactly like Draco, only his hair a few shades darker and he had his mother's eyes, but they were a few shades lighter. Aurora was sixteen and looked a lot like Draco's mother, Narcissa, but had Ginny's personality. She had this platinum blonde hair that almost looked white just like her father and these piercing blue eyes. Ellie was fifteen and she had ended up with a strawberry blonde mane and amber eyes like Ginny. She kept to herself a lot and was always trying to learn anything she could. Her grades were quite impressive; her Aunt Hermione was very proud. Riley was thirteen, she was another mini Ginny but she didn't seem to have either one of her parent's personalities whatsoever, she was more of a loner. Then there was Harper, she was ten and the tomboy of the clan. Her dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes constantly made it hard for Draco or Ginny to stay angry at her after all the mischief she got into. Lastly, baby Ava...she was two and once again the ginger genes had won, while Draco won the battle of the eyes.

"Riley, stop putting your carrots on Ellie's plate and eat them," Ginny said, her head not even facing her.

Riley rolled her eyes at her mother's ability to tell what all of them were doing without her even seeing it.

"Roll your eyes again and you'll be eating carrots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Ginny said, shooting her a threatening glare. "Yes, she will," she said in a silly voice as she tickled Ava's little tummy before she gave her some food.

The doorbell rang out and Aurora quickly jumped up. "I'll get it-"

"SIT...down," Draco said, looking at her with a smirk. "I can tell by your sudden urge to answer the door who must be out there...allow me to get it," he said, an amused smile covering his face.

"Ugh, Dad, please don't," Aurora pleaded.

"THEY WERE INVITED!" Ginny yelled out to him as he walked out of the dining room.

Draco ripped the front door open and a sneer covered his face. "Evening, Potter, what do you want?" he asked, folding his arms.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy, my you're looking rather magnificent this evening, is that a new shirt?" James asked, his sarcasm evident in every word as he walked past him and into the dining room.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose as Harry and Luna came walking up to the door. "My patience is wearing thin with that son of yours," he said.

"He's a sixteen-year-old boy, Draco, it's not like I can turn off his hormones," Harry laughed, as he held the hand of his six-year-old daughter Bella.

"I'm sure there's a spell for that," he mumbled as they walked back into the dining room.

James went to take a seat beside Aurora when Draco grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him to a seat further down the table before he took his own seat again. Draco felt Aurora's glare on him and he smiled brightly at her before he turned his attention to Ginny and the others.

The doorbell rang again and Draco looked at Aurora. "You sure you don't want to go get that?" he asked her.

She just rolled her eyes before she got up and went to answer it. She came back shortly with Ron, Hermione and their two kids Rose, who was sixteen and Hugo who was thirteen.

"Hey, hey everyone," Ron said cheerfully. "I thought Mum and Dad were coming?"

Ginny just made eye contact with him and shook her head, she didn't like discussing her father's health in front of the kids. Ron just nodded with a small frown before he turned to Harper with a smile.

"Is that punishment over yet? George and I really need some of your input on some new product."

Harper went to open her mouth to answer when Ginny cut her off.

"No, she just added another day to it because she can't listen, besides, we are heading to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get her school supplies," she said, giving Harper a stern stare.

"Oh bummer, well what about you Scorpius? Now that you and Ember are out of school you have any jobs lined up?" Ron asked.

"Why do I need a job? We're rich," he said, his face genuinely confused.

"No son, I'm rich, you're broke, so I suggest you go with us tomorrow to Diagon Alley and start looking," Draco said; giving him the same stern look Ginny gave Harper.

"What about at the Ministry? Dad? Harry? Aunt Hermione...you all work there, can't you guys get me a job there?"

"Uh-"

Draco cut Harry off. "No, I don't want you working at the Ministry so you can forget that idea."

"Why not?"

"Scorpius, what I think your dad means is... the Ministry isn't the right place to start off in. Over the years, there's been a lot of foul play and unethical things going on." Harry chimed in.

"And I don't want you getting swept up into any of it, so look elsewhere," Draco said, his tone dismissive.

Scorpius nodded.

"I'm guessing this is a bad time to tell you that Mr. Adwell offered me a job in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes," Ember said.

"WHAT?" Ginny and Draco both said in unison.

"And who the hell is Mr. Adwell?" Draco demanded.

"It's Noah's Uncle," Ember said.

Draco looked at Ginny, "Who the hell is Noah?" he quietly asked her.

"He's a boy from school...a friend," she whispered back.

"Yeah, I bet," he mumbled. He turned back to Ember, "Well, you'll have to tell Mr. Adwell you can't take it."

"But Dad, it's just desk work, that's all, Harry, tell him it's fine." she pleaded.

Harry looked everywhere else but at her and didn't dare get in the middle of it.

"Gee, thanks for that...Aunt Hermione? Please?" Ember continued to plead.

"Draco, if it's ok, I know Mr. Adwell, we've worked together in the past and I'm always in the department lately it seems. Perhaps a desk job would be ok for now?" She suggested, causing Ember's face to light up. "While she's looking for a job elsewhere?" Hermione finished.

Ember's face dropped and she folded her arms in annoyance.

Draco turned to Ginny and she gave him a small smile. "Fine."

"What? How's that fair?" Scorpius asks angrily.

"It's not, now change the subject," Ginny said firmly.

* * *

Later that night, Draco made his way around to each child's room, something he and Ginny did every night. He popped his head into Harper's room and saw her jump into bed at his arrival.

"Hey kid, what are you up to?" he asked, looking around at the mess of clothes she had scattered about.

"Just trying to decide what to pack for school. Dad, do you think I'll make the Quidditch team?" she asked.

"Well, you practice day and night and you're quite good so I think you have a great shot," he said with a smile.

"Do you think you could help your favorite daughter out and get Mum to take that extra day off of my punishment?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

He just laughed at her, "I'll see what I can do." he said as he tucked her in and placed a kiss on her head. "And stay in bed...I better not catch you on that Quidditch pitch again."

He closed her door and walked down the hall and knocked on Ember's door. She ripped it open and rolled her eyes before she walked back over to her bed and plopped down on it.

"Tell me about Noah?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning against her bedpost.

"Seriously, Dad? He's just a friend and yes, he happens to be a boy, is that alright? Am I not allowed to have male friends?" she snapped.

"Of course you can have male friends, but male friends sometimes turn into boyfriends and then-"

"UGH, EWW, Dad, please do not have that conversation with me. Noah and I are not doing anything like that...not yet anyway," she mumbled the last part.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"So you and Noah are more than friends?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Dad, Mum already talked to me about this, she told me all about how she was very young when she had us and blah, blah, blah so save your breath."

He just looked at her. "What's really going on? You seem quite angry, with me specifically."

She didn't say anything.

"Ember?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so...-"

"Bitchy?" he finished for her.

"Thanks, Dad," she said with a smirk. "You're always helping Scorpius out there when we practice using our powers and every time I end up on my arse. It's not fair, why aren't my powers as strong as his?"

"Your powers are strong; you just aren't focusing enough to use them properly. You are constantly rushing your strategy and forcing them rather than trusting your instincts. You are always repetitive, so tracking your next movement is quite easy, but Ember you know we just let you and your brother practice just to have a handle on them. I don't want you ever using your powers in a careless or malicious way."

"I know Dad," she said. "Why won't you or Mum ever use your powers?"

"We do-"

"No, I mean...like... really use them, you could help Scorpius and I practice."

Draco and Ginny rarely ever used their powers, especially in front of their children. When they found out Scorpius and Ember had the same abilities it scared them at first. They had only started developing their powers a little over a year ago and neither of their powers were as strong as his or Ginny's...not yet anyway. He and Ginny were forced into a situation at the time to use such abilities to defend themselves when his father was alive. He and Ginny never spoke of what happened with Lucius to their children, they didn't want them to know all the heartache and pain that was their lives before they were born. Some things they shared with them, but a lot of it they left out, even Harry hadn't spoken of those events or his powers to James or Bella at all.

One of Draco and Ginny's biggest fears was word getting out about Ember and Scorpius' powers. It wasn't that uncommon to see witches and wizards with special abilities, but it was well known about his and Ginny's powers already around the Wizarding world. They both had been approached by a person or two in the past asking to study their abilities and that was something they did not want. They didn't want to end up someone's science experiment, especially their kids.

"Ember, there really isn't a need for them, but I'm sure if you talk to your mother, she will happily show you a few things," he said with a smile.

She nodded before he gave her a quick hug and placed a kiss on her head.

* * *

Ginny was brushing her teeth in the bathroom and then started brushing her hair when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She knew it to be one of the kids and quickly rinsed her mouth out before she walked over and opened it up.

She smiled in amusement. "Draco, what are you doing? Why are you knocking- Are you wearing a suit?"

"I came to pick you up," he said, holding his hand out for her to take.

"Pick me up?"

"For a late-night dance," he said, giving her a light pull into the hall.

"I'm in pajamas and you're all dressed up though," she said, giving some resistance as he dragged her along.

"You look perfect," he said as he led her to the ballroom and opened the door for her.

She walked in and smiled at how gorgeous it was. They didn't use the room a lot but when they did it always amazed her.

"The kids-"

"Are all asleep," he said, pulling her onto the dance floor and waved his wand for some music to start playing.

He pulled her close to him and took her hand in his and placed the other one on the small of her back. Every chance he had to be with Ginny, he always made sure he took advantage of. He was overwhelmed with how his life turned out, how amazing every single one of his children was, how incredibly in love with Ginny he was after all these years. He still looked at her and wanted her the same way he did when he first kissed her.

Ginny just looked at him, he was the most wonderful man in every way possible. He was a fantastic father to each of their children and he was the same way as a husband. She never once felt put on the back burner or felt any less love from him after all this time. They could hardly keep their hands off each other which is how they ended up with seven children. Every time she found out she was pregnant again Draco's reaction was better than the last. He was so happy to be a dad; it melted Ginny's heart to see how excited he always was. Seven kids though, was unexpected, for her anyway, sometimes she wondered if she was doing a good job. Every time she wondered that, it was like Draco could read her mind because he would always say how great of a mother she was to their children.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. She felt him pull her closer to him as he ran one of his hands through her hair. The feeling of his hands on her face always sent a shiver down her spine, making her kisses turn fiercer. He could feel her body turn hot beneath his touch which only made him more turned on. Ginny could feel the spots where he touched her turn cold, she could feel the ice run through her until she couldn't take it anymore and would counter it with an equal amount of heat. It was always a fight of fire and ice when they were intimate and it was always more pleasurable than the last. One time Ginny set their bedroom on fire, but thankfully Draco extinguished it before it did any major damage.

She pulled away suddenly and looked at the ceiling. "You're making it snow," she laughed against his lips.

"Help a guy out, then," he said.

She waved her hand at the ceiling and it suddenly started raining, soaking them both."Oops, didn't think that through."

They both laughed and then their lips were on each others again.

* * *

"No, Harper put it back, what else is on the list?" Ginny asked, grabbing the paper from her.

"Riley, have you- Where's Riley?" Ginny asked, looking around the bookstore. "Scorpius, please go find Riley...Harper put it back," she said once more as Harper put down a stack of books on Quidditch.

Ember watched her mother for a moment as she somehow kept each one of her siblings in check. She couldn't help but smile at her mum's ability to keep calm and not stress, especially when it came to all of the chaos that came with having seven children. She assumed she got it from their grandmother, Molly.

"Um, Mum?"

"Yes, Ember? Ellie, go grab these books, they are the last two on the list," she said, giving her the paper. "What's up, sweetie?"

"I was wondering...um, do you think you would be willing to show me-"

Ava started to cry suddenly and then Scorpius finally came over with Riley in hand. "She was next door looking at owls," he said.

"Do not go wandering off; go help Ellie find the rest of the books. Scorpius please be a dear and take Ava for an ice cream across the way so I can finish up." She said with a smile.

"Of course, Mum," he said, strolling his baby sister out of the crowded bookstore.

"What were you saying Ember?"

"Um, so I was wondering if you could show me how to better use my...powers?" she asked, she didn't make eye contact with her mother.

Ginny stopped what she was doing and looked at her. "What?"

Ember looked back up, fidgeting with her hands. "Could you show me-"

"No, I heard that, but why?" she asked. "Your father has been practicing with you and your brother," she stated.

"Yes, but...Dad isn't like me...you are," she said, locking eyes with Ginny.

Ginny was quiet for a few moments. "I'll think about it, but this isn't the place to discuss that, ok?"

Ember nodded before she saw Noah across the store, who came walking over. "Mum, you remember Noah from school?"

"Ah, yes, hello Noah, how was your summer?"

"Quite well, thank you, this is my father," he said, gesturing to the man behind him.

"Miss Weasley, nice-"

"Malfoy...Mrs. Malfoy actually," Ginny corrected him as she took his hand to shake.

"Of course, my apologies, Mrs. Malfoy, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Jack Adwell. My son talks a lot about Ember here."

"Does he now?" Ginny said, giving a side glance at Ember. "Ember tells me your brother works at the Ministry and has offered her a job?"

"Yes, indeed I hope that was alright?" he asked.

"It's much appreciated, however, Ember will work at the Ministry until she finds work elsewhere," she stated, her tone dismissive.

"I understand," he said.

Ginny went to walk away when he spoke again.

"Mrs. Malfoy, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I have a word with you?" he asked.

She was surprised by the question and then looked at Ember. "Give me a moment, sweetheart." she said as she watched her and Noah take a few steps aside. "What can I help you with Mr. Adwell?"

"I really don't mean to overstep here, however, Noah tells me that Ember is very gifted-"

"We're done here," Ginny cut him off and went to walk away when he spoke again causing her to stop.

"Please, I don't mean to upset you, I just want to help."

"Help? With what exactly?" she asked, her defenses were in full swing, her eyes deadly.

Ginny had never lost control of her powers since Lucius was at large; her mind was always her own whenever she had used any form of her powers in all the years since. The fact that this man knew of Ember's powers was frightening in itself, she didn't trust anyone when it came to her children, anyone outside of her family of course. Having him bring up the subject, in general, had her on edge.

"Again, I don't mean to upset you, it's just Noah and Ember talk and he came to me about an issue she's having with developing them properly. I think I can help her-"

"No, we are done...let's go Ember," she called to her daughter and went to leave when Mr. Adwell reached forward to stop her. "Mrs. Malfoy, if you could just-

Ginny turned around so fast and grabbed his wrist. "I SAID WE'RE DONE HERE!" she yelled.

He quickly grabbed his arm away from her as her grip started to burn him. Her hair started to lightly float and sway like a flame and her eyes turned a shade darker.

"Come near my family again...and I'll k-"

"Mum?" Ember called, she was a bit taken aback by her mother's actions.

Ginny quickly composed herself before she shot Mr. Adwell another deadly glare. "Stay away from my family," she said before she gathered the rest of the kids and made her way out of the bookstore.

"Mum? Are you ok? What was that?" Ember asked, walking fast to keep up with her mother's quickened pace.

"Aurora, there you are, please take the kids to the ice cream shop with Scorpius over there...I'll be right over," Ginny said before she turned to Ember and pulled her into a side alley.

"YOU TOLD NOAH ABOUT YOUR POWERS?" she suddenly yelled at her. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"I'm sorry, Mum, I wanted to talk to you about them, but you and Dad are always so busy."

Ginny felt guilty at Embers words.

"You can't go around telling people about your abilities Ember, because of people like Jack Adwell. People like him want to study things like that and I won't have it," she said, her body started shaking; her nerves were all over the place suddenly.

"But I thought he might be able to help me, that's the only reason I said anything."

"I will try to help you as much as I can, but promise me that you will NEVER agree to anything Jack Adwell may suggest."

"But-"

"PROMISE ME!" she screamed.

Ember jumped at her mother's anger before she nodded.

Ginny pulled her into a tight hug, her heart was racing...she scared herself for a moment back there in the bookstore.

* * *

Later that night, Ember made her way to Scorpius' bedroom. She attempted to talk to her mother again earlier when they got home, but Ginny avoided the conversation. Ember had only heard stories about her parents and their powers from other students at school that had heard stories from their parents. Even when it came to her grandfather Lucius, they didn't say much, just that he wasn't a very nice man.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?" she asked Scorpius as she gave a knock on his already opened door.

"Sure," he said as he finished hanging up some clothes.

"Ugh, you're just as tidy as Dad... it's sad really, how much you two are alike." she teased him.

He just smirked before he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ember, we're twins, I know when something is wrong...now spill," he said, taking a seat on his bed.

"Have you ever spoken to anyone about your powers?"

"You mean like Mum and Dad?"

"No, like another student?"

"No, Dad said we shouldn't make it a habit to let people know. Why?"

"Because I told Noah and-"

"WHAT? Ember, you shouldn't have."

"I know, and today in the bookstore when Mr. Adwell mentioned it to Mum...she was angry."

"Well, I can see why-"

"No, Scorpius, she was different, kind of scary honestly...a bit of her powers slipped."

"What? Mum's powers? That never happens, are you sure?"

"I think the burn mark on Mr. Adwell's wrist is pretty sure." she sighed. "All I want is to be as powerful as you."

"But you are and why does it matter? You know magic and you're really good at spells."

"I don't know, I just want to prove to myself that I can beat your arse finally," she smirked at him.

"Pft, that will never happen, I'll always come out on top," he said smugly.

"We'll see," she laughed, punching him hard in the arm.

* * *

Ember walked past her parent's bedroom to see if her mum was up and saw her father in there instead. She went to walk away and come later when he called out her.

"Hey, how was your day? I had to work late, so sorry I couldn't be home for dinner." Draco said, giving her a quick hug.

"Um, it was good," she said.

"Did you talk to your mother?"

"About what?"

"About practicing?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I don't know, I think I'm just going to keep trying and see how it goes," she said, turning to leave.

"Whoa, wait...what's going on?" he asked, stopping her in the hall. "Why the sudden change of mind?"

Ember looked over her father's shoulder and into the bedroom to see if her mum was around. "Today in Diagon Alley...Mum's powers slipped," she said.

"What do you mean exactly?" Draco asked, his tone serious.

"She was angry at Mr. Adwell for something...and she was different...Her eyes were different, I've never seen her like that before."

Draco's stomach dropped at Ember's words.

"Dad?"

He snapped his eyes up to hers again.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, listen don't think too much on it. You know your mother has a bad temper and sometimes she can get carried away. I wouldn't be concerned about it ok?" he reassured her with a smile.

She nodded.

"And I would still ask her to help you out, I think she would enjoy it more than she thinks."

Ember smiled at this and gave a happier nod before she headed to her room.

Draco turned his attention back to his bedroom where Ginny emerged from the shower and slipped on her nightgown. He looked at her and she met his gaze and gave him a quick smile.

"So, how did everything go today? Did the kids get everything they needed?" he asked.

"Yep, everything was fine, how was work?"

"It was good...everything...was good," he said, walking over to her and looking at her face.

Her eyes were their normal honey brown as they have been for the past seventeen years. He remembered the horror that came along with those black eyes, how her mind would turn over to something she couldn't control.

"Is something wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, why?" she asked with some amusement. "You're acting quite odd," she said, walking over to the vanity.

"What happened with Mr. Adwell today?"

She turned to look at him and let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm guessing Ember told you?"

"Well, you sort of, as she described it, lost control?"

"I didn't lose control and by the way, Jack Adwell knows about Ember because she told Noah."

"What?"

"Yes, that's what prompted the whole thing because he asked me questions about her and wanted to help." she snapped angrily, emphasizing the "help" part. "I'm sorry Draco, but I got very protective, you know I won't let anything happen to these kids."

"I know, I know," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her down as she grew emotional. "Ember is desperate for some guidance with her powers, it's time you showed her a thing or two."

She looked up at him before she nodded in agreement.

 **A/N: So chapter 1 is done, what are your thoughts so far? Please review!**

 **I do have a Facebook group page about the fanfics I've written where I post chapter previews, updates and general discussions on the current fic I'm writing, so please join. The link can be found on my profile page. =D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who had commented, I really appreciate the feedback. I am so thrilled you are all enjoying the sequel.**

 **Please don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapters preview of my current stories or just discuss the my fics in general. The link can be found on my profile page.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

The next morning was filled with the normal chaos around the table over breakfast. Ginny's mind was on her conversation with Draco from last night and what happened in Diagon Alley. She looked across the table at Ember and Scorpius who both were laughing at something Harper said to Riley, most likely an insult. She didn't realize how much of the past was brought up when it came to discussing her powers. She hardly used them; they used to scare her a bit back then.

"Are we still going to Grandma and Grandpa's today Mum?" Ellie asked.

"Of course," Ginny replied with a warm smile.

Her eyes locked with Draco's for a moment as he gave her an encouraging nod.

"So, Ember...Scorpius, I was thinking we could practice some stuff today before we headed over to your grandparents," she said, trying to hide the uncertainty in her voice.

The whole table stopped and looked at her.

"You mean, you're going to practice with us?" Ember asked.

Ginny couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face at their surprise. It was always Draco who practiced with them.

"Yes." she giggled.

"Can we watch?" Harper asked, excitement in her voice.

"Sure, why not," Draco said.

Ginny watched a smile stretch across Ember's face when she found out she was willing to show her a few things. None of her children ever really witnessed her using any of her powers unless it was to heat up one of the many plates of dinner that got cold from them taking forever to get downstairs. It was always little things they only got to see, so for Ginny to be open to going out on the field to practice with them was a real treat, a treat none of them wanted to miss out on.

* * *

Draco walked up to Ginny, Ember, and Scorpius and his eyes fell on his wife.

"How are you doing? You ready for this?" he asked her.

She smirked at him before she cracked her neck and gave a quick stretch. "Please, these kids are going to be crying after I'm done," she said before making her way out onto the field.

Ember watched her father laugh at her mother's comment. "Um, Dad, she's not really going to hurt us is she?"

He looked at her and Scorpius, "Hopefully not," he said with a shrug, although he knew Ginny would never do such a thing, he just liked to see them riled up.

"Dad, just how strong is Mum's powers?" Scorpius asked.

Draco turned around to look at the Manor behind them. "Hmm, I don't know, she could probably burn the Manor to the ground in less than ten seconds." he looked at the two of them. "But that's just a guess...probably less," he said with a smirk as he walked over to the rest of the kids.

They both let out a shaky breath as they joined their mother in the middle of the field.

"Scorpius, why don't you start off, just throw something at me." Ginny suggested.

"Are you sure?" he asked, afraid he would hurt his mother.

"Yes, dear, go ahead," she reassured him.

He put a good amount of distance between them before he felt his powers come to the surface. He quickly released a ball of ice that flew straight at Ginny's face, but as soon as it got close enough to her it melted away into a cloud of steam. Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows at this and then released another two icy spheres towards her and again they were nothing more than a steamy cloud before they even got to her.

"How are you doing that Mum without producing any fire?" Ember asked from the sideline.

She nodded for Ember to stand next to her. "Hold out your hand," Ginny instructed.

Ember slowly lifted her hand at first and Ginny gave her an encouraging smile. She held her hand above Ember's palm.

"Can you feel this?" Ginny asked her as a wave of heat emanated from her hand.

Ember smiled widely at this.

"Our powers are heat based, you have to just learn new tricks and ways of using them."

"Can you show me how to do this?" Ember asked.

"Of course, but it may not come so easily at first, you'll have to practice," Ginny warned her.

When Scorpius and Ember first learned of their new abilities they became very careless with them. That's why Draco and Ginny agreed to have them practice so they could better understand them and have control over them. Losing control with these types of powers was something Draco and Ginny remembered all too well, they didn't want that to happen to either of their children.

"How did you learn all of this Mum?"

"I practiced, A LOT, me and your father practiced against each other as you and your brother do."

"Have you ever lost...control?"

Ginny's face dropped at her question. "Yes, but it was a different time then, I was forced into developing my powers very quickly...your father as well."

"Why-"

"Enough questions Ember, why don't we keep practicing?" Ginny suggested before Ember nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Mother, I'm not holding back this time," Scorpius warned her.

"Good, give me everything you've got," she said with a smirk before she started walking towards him, a ball of flames forming in her hand.

Scorpius threw sharp icicles at her and they did nothing to her. He even tried the same thing he did on Ember where he turned the ground beneath Ginny's feet to ice so she would slip, but with every step she took it melted it faster than it could form. She was advancing on him and he started to panic, he held his hands out and made a thin wall of ice in front of him and pushed it towards her. She quickly threw her fireball at the wall and made it bust to pieces.

"Wicked," Harper said in excitement as Draco smirked at her comment.

"Come on Scorpius, give me something else, you're stronger than that," Ginny said, before emitting a burst of flames from her palm and shooting it right at him.

He held his hand out to stop it with his icy powers and at first, it did, but then he felt her powers intensify and he started backing up until he lost his focus and flew backward to the ground.

Draco couldn't help but start laughing, he was so used to Scorpius and Ember being so cocky during their practices. He also loved watching Ginny use her powers as if she wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen already, seeing her in action made him want to drag her upstairs and bang her brains out.

Harper, Ellie, Riley, and Aurora were all laughing from the sidelines causing Scorpius to shoot them a deadly glare.

"This is an unfair fight," Scorpius stated, his face filled with annoyance.

"Who said anything about a fight? You wanted to practice right?" Ginny reminded him. "I'll let Ember take my place," she said, gesturing for Ember to come over.

"Pft, well then this will be a piece of cake," Scorpius laughed, getting up from the ground and brushing himself off.

Scorpius watched his mum whisper something in Ember's ear as she nodded that she understood what Ginny was telling her and then walked the rest of the way over to her brother.

"What did she tell you?" he asked, a bit of worry in his voice.

Ember just smirked at him and didn't say anything.

"Dad, they're cheating," Scorpius stated, flailing his hand about in anger.

"Well, son, to be fair, I am constantly helping you." Draco shrugged.

Scorpius just shook his head in frustration before he got in position and looked at his sister. "Give me your best shot, I'm sure it will be less than mediocre as usual," he drawled.

Ember didn't say anything; she just narrowed her eyes at his comment and took her mother's advice. Scorpius went to conjure up his powers, but before he had a chance Ember released this powerful wave of heat that made him stumble backward a bit before the wall of heat had him on his back again.

She let out a surprised gasp "I did it," she whispered with a wide smile. "I DID IT!" Ember shouted excitedly, hugging her mother.

Scorpius became angry at the fact that Ember was able to overpower him for the first time. He jumped to his feet and started releasing everything he had on her. Ember wasn't expecting his outburst and tried to quickly melt whatever icy threat was flying at her. She felt one hit her and before any other ones managed to harm her, Ginny melted the rest before they could reach her.

"SCORPIUS! YOU DIRTY BASTARD!" Ember yelled at his attempts to harm her while her back was turned.

She ran angrily at him and they started throwing their powers all about. Ginny went to break the fight up when she decided to get their attention a different way. She glanced across the field at Draco, who shook his head at the twins going at it. Ginny released a fiery stream from both of her hands that slithered across the grass and tightly wrapped around Scorpius and Ember, making all fighting come to a stop.

"Alright, come on, release yourselves," Ginny ordered.

"How the hell do I do that? It's not ice, I can't melt it." Ember stated through her growls of frustration as she desperately tried to wriggle free.

Scorpius tried reaching with his hand to freeze the fiery stream holding him tightly, but he failed at doing so.

Ginny watched them struggle and a frown crossed her face. "You guys are overthinking it, you need to just feel it and let your body respond to it. Scorpius, your powers are ice based, your powers aren't only emitted through your hands...it runs through your whole body," she explained before turning her attention to Ember. "And you, how are you even allowing a fire-based bond to hold you at all, you should be able to absorb the flames Ember."

After Scorpius listened to his mother's words he realized she was right in what she saying. How was he letting something as simple as a fiery bond hold him back? He started feeling his body temperature drop and a coolness started to run throughout his body. He started seeing steam form around him as his hands, arms and legs started icing over making the wild flames containing him turn to steam and releasing him from its grip.

Ember looked at her brother and grew more frustrated, why was it so easy for him to learn to control his powers more than her. She knew how to conjure them up, but she didn't know all the tricks her mum did or how her mum was able to use them with such finesse. She started to panic and at one point thought the binds around her were burning her. Ginny seemed to pick up on this and released Ember from the fiery rope around her.

Ember was on her knees, breathing heavily when Ginny approached her. "Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked.

Ember started shaking her head before she looked up at her mother. "I don't understand, Scorpius and I are twins, why aren't my powers just as strong as his?" she demanded, her eyes getting teary.

"Calm down my sweet. You are just having a bit of a tougher time developing them fully, but when you do...your brother will be running for the hills, believe me." Ginny said with a smile, making Ember return a small one of her own. "We'll practice more another day."

Ember and Scorpius walked back over to their sisters and Draco was laughing at the both of them. He was suddenly surprised when a small fireball flew past his face and missed him by mere inches as he followed the direction it came from over to Ginny. She just smirked at him and stood there looking all innocent.

"Are you provoking me?" he asked, a smirk crossing his lips.

"I would never," Ginny said sarcastically before she had a few random flames gently fly past him.

He started nodding. "Ok, you're asking for it," he said, taking off his watch and handing it to Harper. "Hold that, I don't want your mother to melt it on me, it's my favorite watch," he said before he walked out to the field.

He locked eyes with her across the field, he and Ginny hadn't used their powers in any kind of aggressive or defensive way since the fight against Lucius and when they used to practice against each other.

Ginny's amber eyes pierced into his as she narrowed them slightly, an already triumphant smile was planted on her face. Draco smirked at her confidence as his mercury eyes met hers.

"Dad's going to totally wipe the floor with Mum," Riley said with amusement.

Harper looked at her and scoffed. "Yeah, right, Mum is going to annihilate him," she stated confidently.

Riley glared at her, "We'll see."

Draco took a few steps towards Ginny; every step covered the ground with patches of ice. He could feel the ice coursing through his veins, it was a feeling he never got tired of and missed. It had been a while since he went all out with his powers, it was long overdue. The wind picked up a bit as he watched Ginny's hair whip wildly around her face; he could tell she almost enjoyed the freezing sensation against her fiery skin. He kept his eyes locked with hers the entire time as the air around her grew colder. She went to take a step towards him when giant shards of ice burst through the ground all around her. Her feet were suddenly frozen in place as it ran up her legs and halfway up her body.

Ginny was done letting Draco have his fun at this point and a shimmer of fire whipped throughout her red strands. Draco stopped in his tracks when her entire body became engulfed in flames and then became this giant blazing ball of fire. It dropped to the ground and split into two fiery walls that ran along the edge of the field and closing him in. He turned to see where she went and he was hit in the chest with a ball of flames that sent him flying backward.

He picked himself up off the ground, rubbing his chest where the flames had hit him. "Learned some new tricks I see," he smirked. "So have I.," he said as he waved his hand and a wall of ice as long as the field formed quicker than Ginny could react.

It started turning into a crashing wave as she quickly ran along it, running her fingers against the icy wall as she did. She was running right at Draco, who was ready for her with another one of his power tricks. She quickly dropped to her knees and slid across the already frost covered ground right past him. She disappeared again when he turned around and then he watched her glide through the air like a dancing flame. Suddenly, she was right in front of him and they both ran right at each other. Fire clashed with ice and there was an ongoing battle between the two of them as they struggled to overpower the other.

Draco tried with everything he had to push back, but whenever he thought her powers couldn't get any stronger, he would feel the heat getting closer and closer to him. He knew how powerful Ginny was and how dangerous her lack of control over her powers use to be...but he didn't remember her powers ever being at this level. They were ten times more powerful than he remembered and she was very smart how she used them. He couldn't help but be a bit turned on by the blazing inferno that he called his wife in front of him.

He put up a shield of ice suddenly and felt her fierce flames start to push him back until he finally covered himself in a dome of ice to protect himself further. Ginny finally pulled back on her powers when she saw Draco put up a shield. She let her powers die down and then saw him peek his head out from behind the protective dome he formed and looked at her with a smirk.

"Damn woman," he teased. "I'm impressed," he said, walking up to her.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked.

"The fact that you're able to kick my arse makes me want to screw you senseless," he said, looking down at her fiery eyes.

He brought one hand up to her face and cupped her cheek, the heat still present beneath her skin as he cooled her down with his touch. She felt a shiver run down her spine before she reached up and caught his lips. The feeling of Draco's icy touch was exactly what her body was craving right now. Every kiss he laid on her lips sent her body almost into convulsions with how pleasurable they were.

"Uh, guys, we're still here," came Ellie's voice.

They both turned to look at her and gave a small laugh.

"Told you she'd kick his arse," Harper said with a smug smile that made Riley snarl at her.

"Mum, Dad that was incredible...do you think Scorpius and I will ever be as powerful as that?" Ember asked, her eyes still glistening with excitement from what she just watched.

"With time and practice...it's possible, but right now we have to get ready to head to your grandparents," Draco said.

He watched them all start to head back to the house before he turned back to the firecracker before him. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"You have, but maybe when we get back later you could show me again just how much?" she suggested, biting her lower lip as her eyes once again pierced into his.

* * *

"HELLO, HELLO, MY GRANDBABIES!" Molly's voice rang out as they stepped out of the fireplace.

She grabbed them all into individual hugs, giving each one a very long and tight squeeze. Ginny and Draco always received one as well and even though Draco always gave a side smirk she could tell he enjoyed the traditional hugs from Mrs. Weasley.

"Supper will be ready in a little bit," she said before she slapped Scorpius' hand away from the plate of cookies on the counter. "Those are for dessert, Scorpius."

"But Grams, it's me...your favorite," he whispered the last part to her.

She just smiled at him. "Nice try, you are all my favorite, but I am rather fond of you, go ahead... take one," she said with a light laugh as he gave a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a cookie.

"IS THAT MY GINBUG I HEAR?"

Ginny turned to see her father limping towards her, a great deal of his body relying on the cane that steadied his balance. Draco pulled a chair out for him to sit at the table as Ginny walked over and gave him a tight hug.

"How are you feeling Dad? Mum, said you were-"

"Pish posh, your mother makes things sound worse than they are when it comes to my health," he said waving his hand.

Ginny glanced at Draco as he spoke; they both knew he was putting up a front. It was a little over a year ago when Draco owled her about her father collapsing at the Ministry from a heart attack. Ever since he had developed more health problems and things had only recently started taking a turn for the worst. He was recently forced to retire from the Ministry.

Ginny decided not to push the conversation of his health right now and changed the subject altogether. "So, are George and Angelina here already?"

"Yes, dear, they are out back getting ready to start up a game of Quidditch with everyone else. There's your Harper already in the air," Molly smiled through the window at her granddaughter.

"So Draco, my boy, how are things at the Ministry?" Arthur asked.

"The same shit, the newest one being that your granddaughter Ember took it upon herself to take a job offer from Mr. Adwell," Draco said with a sneer.

"Jack Adwell?"

"No, his brother."

"Oh, Robert Adwell down in the Magical Accidents department, that might not be as worrisome as you think. Robert and his brother have worked for the Ministry for years. They have always been reputable people and-"

"Wait, Jack Adwell works for the Ministry as well? In the same department?" Ginny asked.

Her father nodded.

"I just find that interesting since Jack Adwell inquired about Ember's powers yesterday in Diagon Alley," Ginny stated, a look of anger forming on her face.

"Did he? How would he even know-?"

"Because Ember has a rather close relationship with his son Noah and she told him." Draco snapped out, a look of disgust on his face at his daughter's interest in boys.

"You two need to calm down. Ember having a desk job at the Ministry does not mean she's going to become corrupted." Arthur laughed. "Give her a chance, at least until she finds something else."

"I would agree with your father dears, all because you were saving the world and having babies at seventeen and eighteen doesn't mean that's going to happen to Ember or Scorpius," Molly said.

"Don't forget about being tormented half to death by your own father," Draco added.

"Or losing control of the unexplained powers you suddenly developed and almost killing your loved ones." Ginny continued.

"Alright, enough of that you two, go outside and get your heads out of the past," Molly ordered.

Ginny let out a long sigh before Draco got up and held his hand out for her as they walked out to the back porch. Draco went to go join the others out on the field when he realized she stopped walking with him. He watched her face light up as she just watched everyone.

"Every time we come here..."

"I know," he said, already knowing what went through her mind.

Ginny looked through the kitchen window of the farmhouse and watched her parents for a moment. There were so many memories in this house from her past, both good and bad. Everywhere she looked, whether it is out to the field or the steps to the back porch, there was some sort of memory that stuck with her. She was happy to hear her parents were going to fix up the place and stay there after Lucius was killed and it really became everything the Burrow was.

Ginny loved hearing the chaos that filled the house with everyone over for Sunday dinners. The sound of all of her kids either laughing, playing or even arguing with one another or their cousins and friends brought a smile to her face. Still seeing Draco interact with her family so comfortably was something she didn't think she would ever get used to but it always made her fall further in love with him every time she did witness it.

She felt him wrap his arms around her and rest his chin on her shoulder as he watched Harper zip past Ron on her broom so fast he fell over, making him and Ginny let out a snicker.

* * *

"You must be excited that school will be starting soon?" Rose said with a small giggle as she looked across the field at James. "You two will have more privacy."

Aurora followed her gaze and then blushed, "It's not like that, we are just friends," she said, playing with a blade of grass in between her fingers.

"Really good friends," Ember chimed in as she walked up between the two girls.

Aurora just shook her head in annoyance at her sister's comment. "Shut up, don't you have a fire to go start somewhere?" she teased.

Ember snapped her fingers and set the piece of grass Aurora had in her hand on fire, making her let out a loud gasp and quickly drop it to the floor.

"EMBER!" she yelled, quickly stepping on it to put it out.

Ember and Rose started shaking with laughter as Aurora just stomped off angrily.

* * *

James watched Aurora stomp off into the house, her platinum hair blowing gently across her pale face from the evening air.

"You really need to be more aware of where and who you keep staring at," Scorpius warned him.

James scoffed at his comment, "You mean because of your father?"

"Yes, because of my father, he hates you."

"Please, your father doesn't scare me and he only hates me because he thinks I fancy his daughter," James said, happily waving to Draco from across the field, causing a sneer to form on his face before he walked back inside.

"And you don't?" Scorpius asked in amusement.

"What? Fancy Aurora? No, we are just friends." James assured him with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah, really good friends," Scorpius mumbled.

James glared at him. "And what about you and Raven?"

"What about Raven?" Scorpius asked defensively.

"Have you told your parents about her?" he asked, even though he knew he hadn't.

"No, we are just friends."

"Mmhmm," was all James said. "You know, your father wouldn't mind it probably, he and Blaise were civil to each other. I mean they weren't best mates, but friends all the same, so dating his daughter won't be so much of a bad thing."

"I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut and your nose out of my business James." Scorpius drawled, his tone dismissively.

James held his hands up in defeat. "Just saying, you don't have to start acting like a prat...Malfoy," he stated before making his way into the house for dinner.

* * *

Dinners with the whole family were always loud and obnoxious between all the adults talking over each other and the kids arguing over anything and everything they could think of. As chaotic and exhausting was it was to keep track of what was going on and who was saying what, it was one of Draco's favorite things to do. It always reminded him of his mother and how he missed her dearly. He was so grateful to have those last few months with her before she was killed. Their relationship had been strained after the final battle at Hogwarts, but to have the chance to mend it before the end meant the world to him. Being surrounded by family and friends who loved him as their own made him very protective over everyone sitting at that table.

Once dinner was over Mrs. Weasley ordered the kids to head to the living room or outside so the adults could talk. Ginny eyed the double chocolate fudge cake her mother had made as she knew it was her and now Draco's favorite. She welcomed the big piece her mother slid over to her and when Draco went to share it with her, she pulled it towards her and gestured for him to get his own piece.

"So Arthur, what did the MediWizard say yesterday when you went to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.

"The same stuff, it's nothing to worry about," Arthur said, waving his hand dismissively.

Ginny looked at her mum's face and could tell there was more going on. "What is it Mum?" she asked, ignoring her father's sigh of frustration from them pestering him about his health.

"They are trying to do everything they can for him, but his heart just isn't responding well to any treatments or-"

"Enough Molly, I'm fine, no need to start worrying everyone," Arthur said, cutting her off.

"Dad, stop it, we aren't stupid, and we know things are bad, so stop trying to make it out like everything is fine because it's not." Ginny snapped at him.

Arthur's head fell in defeat; he hated his children taking on the burden of knowing the decline of his health. The truth was that he didn't think he would be around much longer, each day was a struggle. He and Molly knew it wouldn't be years more only months and he didn't want his family to look at him as a dying man.

The table had become quiet at this point, only the sound of the children in the background filled their ears. Draco suddenly cleared his throat before he looked at Arthur.

"Don't worry Arthur, if your heart decides to give out on you we'll just have Harry here jolt you awake with his nifty powers." he joked, making Harry give the fork that Draco was holding an electrical shock causing him to throw it down in surprise.

The table fell into laughter and the heaviness that filled the room seemed to suddenly lighten up. Ginny turned to Draco and gave him a thankful smile at his attempt to make her father laugh after the serious conversation. She felt him give her knee a light squeeze before she went back to her cake and laughed at Draco's continuous attempts to pick up his fork without being shocked.

* * *

He watched her squirt some lotion in the palm of her hand and lift her foot to balance herself on the bench in front of the bed. She hiked up her silky nightgown before she rubbed her hands together and started to rub it along her thin pale legs. He was too focused on her rubbing herself down that he didn't notice her catching him staring at her.

"Draco?" Ginny called his name softly, a smirk crossing her lips.

"Huh? What?" he asked, finally snapping his eyes up to hers.

She put her leg down and slowly made her way over to him. She loved how he looked at her like it was his first time realizing how much he loved her. He slid his hands around her waist and cupped her ass for a moment before they traveled back up the front of her body. His hands grazed her nipples through the thin silky garment she wore before he had her face in them. He grabbed her to him and hungrily kissed her, one of his hands traveling back down to the strap of her nightgown and pulling it off of her shoulder. He kissed and sucked her neck like he was tasting her milky flesh for the first time. Their lips were on each other's again and he had just got done backing her up to the bed and crawling on top of her when there was a knock at the door. They both stopped mid-kiss and stayed completely still.

"Shh, maybe they'll go away," Draco whispered.

Ginny started giggling and pushed him off of her. "COME IN!" she called out as she slipped off the bed and threw her bathrobe on.

"Uh, sorry Mum...Dad, I'll just talk to you guys in the morning." Scorpius said getting ready to close the door again.

"Thank heavens," Draco mumbled, getting ready to kiss Ginny again when she playfully slapped him and pushed him away.

"No, Scorpius, come back in...what's up dear?" Ginny asked, patting the bench in front of the bed for him to sit.

"Would it be alright if I had a friend join us for dinner tomorrow night?" he asked.

"Of course, you know we don't mind that, have we met him before?"

Scorpius fidgeted a bit with his hands and kept his head down. "Uh, actually...it's a her."

Draco and Ginny exchanged a surprised look and then Draco took a seat on the other side of him. "A girl? You have a girlfriend? How come we don't know about her?" he questioned him.

"Well, I wasn't hiding her from you if that's what you're implying. I just kind of, sort of like her and thought maybe you both might want to meet her." he shrugged, finally lifting his head enough to meet his father's gaze.

They stared at each other for a moment. "Who is it?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Her name is Raven...Raven Zabini," he said.

"Blaise's daughter?" Ginny asked. "I've seen her a few times at Kings Cross, she's very pretty," she said with a smirk giving her son a nudge.

He just gave a small laugh before he turned back to his father, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"So, would that be alright?"

Ginny's eyes locked with Draco's for a moment and she gave him a visual nod with her eyes before he nodded to Scorpius.

"Of course, we would like to meet her," he said.

"Ember is bringing Noah to dinner as well tomorrow, so it will be quite an interesting night," Ginny said.

"Why the hell is she bringing him here? She said they were just friends." Draco stated; annoyance apparent in his voice.

Scorpius scoffed before he got up and went to walk out of the room.

"Stop right there boy, what do you know?" Draco ordered.

Scorpius turned to look at his parents. "Do you really believe they are just friends?"

"No"

"Yes." Draco turned to Ginny, who was apparently more aware of Ember and Noah's relationship. "No?"

Scorpius took this chance to quickly leave the room as Draco stared at his wife.

"Draco, she's a seventeen-year-old girl...what do you think? Yes, its possible they are just friends, but I think they fancy each other."

"Do you think they're screwing? Please say no," he begged her.

Ginny just laughed. "I hope not, but again sweetie...she's seventeen about to be eighteen."

"And you've spoken to her about all that stuff and-"

"Yes, Draco, we have spoken about all that, not so fun stuff that parents dread. Have you spoken to Scorpius about it?"

"A while ago, but he's our good kid, he's never in trouble and he's not Ember so-"

"So what? You know all because Scorpius is a boy and not a girl doesn't mean he shouldn't have the same talk. I'm sure Raven's parents have talked to her about sex, probably warning her about Scorpius right now." she said, standing up and placing a hand on her hip.

"Alright, alright, I'll recap with him," he said, standing up and walking over to her.

He started to untie her bathrobe and slid it down her arms until it fell to the floor.

"You know, my parents never really had that talk with me," he said as he wrapped his hands back around her waist.

Ginny just laughed. "Yeah, I could tell, the funny thing is, my parents constantly talked to me about boys like you... I was still pregnant at seventeen."

"Boys like me? If I recall correctly, you came to my room that first night we were together," he said with a smirk as he tucked her hair behind her ear before he started kissing her neck.

She stopped to think about what he said. "You're right, I guess when you're constantly told not to do something it makes you want to do it that much more."

"Well, let's not forget that I was also unbelievably irresistible," he said smugly, making her lightly slap him.

He scooped her up and threw her on the bed before he crawled on top of her and started placing a trail of kisses down her body. His hand cupped her breast as his thumbs traced her nipples. He slid her nightgown up and placed a kiss beside her navel and continued his trail lower and lower. He felt her fingers run through his hair as she let out a pleasurable sigh as he slipped his fingers under the band of her panties and started to slide them off. He started to kiss her inner thighs making her let out a soft moan as he slowly made his way between her legs. Just as he was getting ready to taste her, something he could tell her body was aching for, there was another knock at the door.

He laid his forehead on her thigh and let out a growl of frustration. "I'm starting to hate our children, Ginevra," he said, making her giggle before she once again slipped out of bed and put her bathrobe back on.

She opened the door to see Harper standing there.

"Good, you guys are up," she said, making her way into the bedroom and plopping down on their bed.

"What do you want?" Draco snapped.

"Someone is cranky," Harper mumbled. "I was thinking since I'll be headed to school tomorrow, maybe I should go practice some more flying beforehand."

"It's after eleven at night, it's time for bed, you aren't stepping foot on that Quidditch pitch," Ginny said firmly.

"But Mum-"

"No, that's final and you better do well to listen. Don't think I won't have Professor McGonagall give you detention for your first two weeks of school by going against what I just said." Ginny warned her.

Harper held her hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright...do you guys need to do it or something because you're awfully cranky," she said, hopping off the bed and leaving the bedroom.

Ginny went to walk after her at her comment when Draco's snickering made her stop. She just shook her head at Harper's words and closed the door once more.

This time Ginny just threw her clothes off and Draco did the same before she pushed him on the bed and quickly straddled him. Her flaming hair hung around her shoulders and laid across her milky breasts before she leaned over and kissed him fiercely. He grabbed her ass and pulled her onto him as she threw her head back in satisfaction. She continuously rocked her hips onto him, their lips meeting once more as they both grew closer to their climax. His tongue made its way down to her chest and slid over her right nipple before he took it in his mouth and lightly sucked on it as she rode him harder and faster.

He turned her onto her back and grabbed her legs and pulled her closer to him, bending her legs up so he could have deeper access into her. She let out a loud pleasurable moan that he quickly covered with his mouth as he kissed her deeply as he felt her orgasm. Feeling and hearing her satisfaction always triggered his climax as he let out a low groan into the crook of her neck.

They lay there for a few minutes still attached, their bodies stuck to each other. Ginny placed a few kisses on his earlobe as he kissed her neck a few more times. He lay beside her and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. He couldn't help but think about how so long ago, he questioned every affectionate gesture towards Ginny because he was so afraid. He was afraid to love her, afraid to be vulnerable in front of her, afraid of failing her and not being everything he knew she deserved. Back then when his father was still alive, he became consumed with fear of putting her in danger and in the end she ended up being anyway...everyone did. Now, he would never be blinded by any of those things again, he would never take for granted all the luck that came his way. Ginny was his second chance at life and here he was as happy as he could ever possibly hope for.

As if she could sense the thoughts running through his head, she turned to face him and gently pressed her lips to his again. Their eyes locked, she was lost in his gaze and he in hers and the moment they shared right now by just staring at each other seemed more intimate than the sex they just had. Ginny's lips curled into an amused smile when she heard another knock at their bedroom door causing them both to laugh.

 **A/N: So what did you think? How are you liking the the story so far? Please review! Love you guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here it is! Hope you enjoy this chapter =D**

 **Please don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapters preview of my current stories or just discuss the my fics in general. The link can be found on my profile page.**

"Harper, slow down," Ginny laughed as she tried to keep up with her daughter's pace across the train station.

Harper slowed her pace down and ran back over to her parents where Ginny was strolling Ava. "Dad, do you think I'll be in Slytherin?"

"I can almost guarantee it," he said with a smirk looking at Ginny who laughed.

"What if you're in Hufflepuff, that's a good one," Riley said.

"Ew, no thanks, then I'll have to see your face every day," Harper snapped.

"Enough, that wasn't nice Harper. You all were sorted into different houses for different reasons, so respect each other please." Ginny chimed in.

"Well, I hope I'm in Slytherin like Scorpius and Ember were," Harper said, turning her nose up at Riley.

Ginny just shook her head, she looked at Draco, who she knew was rather pleased that three of their seven children so far were sorted into Slytherin. Aurora was in Gryffindor, Ellie was in Ravenclaw and Riley was in Hufflepuff. Ginny's thoughts went back to the year Aurora was sorted into Gryffindor, she remembered her coming home in tears because for certain reasons most of her house wasn't welcoming of her. Once Scorpius and Ember were sorted into Slytherin, it started nothing but gossip and rumors about all of the Malfoy children being in Slytherin and growing up to be the next slew of dark witches and wizards.

When Aurora was unexpectedly sorted into Gryffindor, she became an outcast as much as McGonagall spoke to Gryffindor house about the constant remarks being made. That was how Aurora and James became such good friends because he was the only friend she had in Gryffindor house, besides her cousins anyway. Over the years, most of the rumors died down and she was a little more welcomed amongst her house peers, although she ignored most of everyone every year.

"Alright girls, have fun this year, I better not get another letter from McGonagall this year," Ginny called after Ellie and Riley after they hurried off after hugging her and Draco goodbye.

"Mum, Harper is starting school this year, I think it wouldn't seem normal if you didn't get a letter from McGonagall this year." Aurora teased, as she ruffled Harper's hair.

"Quite true," Ginny giggled.

Aurora gave her mum a tight hug, holding onto her a little tighter than usual. Ginny pulled away slightly and looked at her face.

"Hey, it's going to a be a good year, ok?" Ginny reassured her with a comforting smile

Aurora just looked at her for a moment before she returned one and hugged her tightly once more.

"Love you, baby, now go on."

Ginny turned her attention to Draco and Harper beside her.

"Listen to me young lady, you know how much your mother and I love you, but mark my words, dear child, do not make us come to that school and beat your arse," he said with a bright smile.

"Dad, come on, it's me. I'm the most behaved out of all my siblings," she said sweetly.

"Mmhmm," Draco said with a smirk before he grabbed her into a tight hug. "Love you, now go."

Harper gave Ginny a quick hug before she took off running towards the train.

* * *

Draco and Ginny just got home from seeing the kids off to school and Draco was escorting Ember to the Ministry for her first day of work. They still wanted her to find work elsewhere, but Draco was more than happy to have her doing anything else but hanging out with Noah while she had so much extra time on her hands now that she was out of school. Draco and Ginny pushed for the twins to figure out what their career goals would be but they both struggled a lot with what they wanted. Ember thought at one point she wanted to be a healer but changed her mind a year back. Scorpius was all about being an Auror for the longest time, but his yearning for adventure faded and his interest turned to business. Draco wasn't thrilled about the idea, but he was impressed with how knowledgeable he was on the subject. Scorpius was just one of those kids that grew up filled with a lot of useless information but excelled in the areas he was most intrigued by.

"Hey, hold on a moment," Ginny said as she gently grabbed Draco's arm to stop him before he left.

She pulled him aside out of Ember's earshot.

"Remember, even though we don't really agree with her working at the Ministry, this is still her first real job so don't go taking all the wind out of her sail," she said with a smile before lightly pushing him.

He just grabbed her face and kissed her. "I know, I'll see you for lunch?"

She nodded happily before she watched him hold out his arm for Ember and apparated to the Ministry.

* * *

Her feet hit the ground and her legs instinctively followed her father into the phone booth that took them down to the Ministry. As soon as Ember stepped out she became overwhelmed, it had been a while since she was at the Ministry. The previous times were just when she would occasionally come with her mother for her father's lunch breaks, but actually stopping to take it all in was different.

Draco was walking when he sensed Ember's presence missing and turned to see her just standing there. His heart melted at seeing how timid she looked in the middle of all the hustle and bustle around them. He walked back over to her and put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in closer to her.

"Come on, you're on the third floor, it's a lot less hectic up there," he said softly before he guided her along with him.

She was thankful for her father's comforting words and let him lead her to the elevator. Once she arrived at her level, she regained her composure and stepped away from the comfort of her father's guiding hand on her shoulder.

She started walking and stopped when she realized he got out of the elevator and was following her.

"Dad, I'm fine now, you can go," she said.

"I'm glad you're feeling more at ease, but I want to be sure you're in good hands."

She rolled her eyes and went to object, but was cut off by the sound of Mr. Adwell's voice ringing out.

"Ah, you must be Ember? My brother told me you'd be starting today." the man said, walking over and holding his hand out to her to shake.

She glanced at her father for a quick moment before she reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sir. Thank you for the opportunity," she added with a smile.

"Of course and it helps that my nephew is quite fond of you," he added, making Ember blush a bit.

A sneer formed on Draco's face at the comment and then he stepped in front of her. "Let me make this quite plain Mr. Adwell, Ember is taking this job temporarily until she finds something else. I want her strictly on desk duty shuffling papers and not her nose anywhere else that it doesn't belong. Her aunt, Hermione Granger-Weasley...yeah, I'm sure you know her. She works on the floor above and will make it a point to check in on her. Myself and Mr. Potter will be doing the same, so please don't let us catch her getting caught up in the corruption that fills these Ministry halls," he said with a slight snarl.

Mr. Adwell just gave a wide smile before he nodded. "Of course Mr. Malfoy, I would never allow it to happen, you have my word," he assured him, holding his hand out for Draco to shake.

Draco just looked at his outstretched hand and then turned to Ember. "Have a good first day," he said to her with a smile before eyeing the man's hand once more and walking away.

Once Draco left Mr. Adwell turned to Ember with a smile. "So Ember, my assistant Bridgette will start showing you some basic filing," he said, gesturing to his office where Bridgette was emerging from. "As the head of this department, I'm sorry to tell you it's not the most exciting job. We mostly just deal with damages caused by accidental magic. It's almost always due to inexperienced Witches and Wizards, very rarely is it ever anything else."

"What else could it be?" Ember asked curiously.

"Sometimes its dark magic or a witch or wizard with a dark heart...or dark power. You never really know until you see the damage," he said with a shrug.

Bridgette came over and said a quick hello before she led Ember over to her desk. Ember saw Mr. Adwell getting ready to walk into his office when she spoke up to stop him.

"What happens if you find it is the use of dark magic or from someone using their powers maliciously?"

He turned back to her. 'Well, then I get involved and most times Aurors will as well. I personally like to study the people who have unexplained powers and help them understand them."

She just nodded before she turned her attention back to Bridgette as Mr. Adwell disappeared into his office.

* * *

There was a knock on his door, but he was too into his book to answer it. Again, there was another knock and then he heard the door gently open and he turned to see his mother's head pop in.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Ginny asked, opening the bedroom door the rest of the way.

Scorpius closed his book and just shrugged. "Nothing great."

"I just put Ava down for a nap and now that Harper's in school, I have nobody to scold...any thoughts?" she asked with amusement.

He just shook his head with a small smirk.

Ginny sensed something was on his mind. "You want to ask me something." She stated as she took a seat beside him on his bed.

He just looked at her for a moment deep in thought. "Mum, why don't you and Dad ever talk about our grandfather?"

Ginny just let out a small giggle. "We see him often enough, now you want us to-"

"No, I mean our grandfather Lucius? You guys talk about Nana Narcissa all the time, but never him. I know you said he just wasn't a nice guy, but you have to know people talk."

"And what do they say?" she asked, her tone tightening.

"Just everything, especially when we were in school, but we heard all sorts of things. We don't believe any of it of course. We only believe what you and Dad have told us, which isn't much and that's why I'm asking."

"Why are you so curious suddenly?" she asked.

"I've always been curious, Ember too, and when you guys didn't want us working at the Ministry it made me think about something someone said last year at school."

"Which was?"

"That our uncle Percy, your own brother, worked there and worked for Lucius until he killed him. Is that true, Mum?"

"I thought everyone at school talked about Harry and Voldemort?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"They still do, but our family and its history are just as popular now. I know that our grandfather was a Death Eater and Dad...he was one too, right?"

"Scorpius what exactly are you wanting to know? If Lucius was a bad man then why would you want to know anything about him?" she asked angrily.

"I don't really care to know about him, but when people in school say things like "Are all the Malfoy kids automatically born a Death Eater?" Or that you were forced to marry Dad because there's no way a Weasley would willingly marry a Malfoy or even things about us-"

"Enough," she said.

He looked at her, she was upset and he felt horrible for it. "I'm sorry, Mum, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to hear all of that stuff. I will talk to your father later, it's not easy for him to talk about his dad Scorpius...he did unforgivable things, he destroyed your father...me...your grandmother."

"It's fine Mum, you're right, there's no need to know about him if he was that evil of a man. As for the stuff going around school, it's been going on for years, so it's nothing we aren't used to and we can handle ourselves. It's not like any of us are believing any of it, well, I never did anyway."

Ginny just smiled at him, he had every right to ask her questions about his grandparents. It was her and Draco, who had trouble reliving those days, everything they went through...all the pain and suffering. The memory of her almost killing her own babies, her encounter with Warren, how she thought Draco and Harry were dead while she gave birth to the twins. She remembered how lonely she felt during that time. She thought back to her lying near death in Draco's bedroom from a poisonous arrow and all the horrid torture sessions Lucius put Draco through.

"Mum?"

She snapped her head to the side when she heard her name.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, he nodded to her grip on his blanket that was singed.

She quickly picked her hand up and walked over to the doorway before she turned to look at him. "I'm sorry Scorpius, one day I promise we will tell you more about him, but I can't do it now," she explained, her voice cracking a bit as she quickly turned and walked down the hall.

* * *

Ember lost track of how many paper cuts covered her fingers from her constant filing. She let out a frustration growl when, what she guessed, was the fourth one that formed and she brought her finger up to her lips and licked the tiny dot of blood from it.

"You'll get used to it eventually," Bridgette said, walking up to her. "How are you doing? Looks like you got the hang of it." she looked around the desk to see all the neat stacks of papers.

"Yeah, it's simple enough I suppose, I never realized so much dark magic is going on in the wizarding world. Some of it being used right under our noses, kind of alarming when you think about it." Ember said as she looked at the pile of papers in front of her.

"Oh yes, very much so. I had just started here when the Ministry was overrun by your grandfather Lucius Malfoy. You were just a baby then, but I'm sure you've heard all about that whole story." Bridgette said, waving her hand to dismiss it.

Ember just stared at her, she desperately tried to hide the surprise on her face. "Oh, yeah of course," she lied. "There are so many different ways I've heard it though, how do you remember it?" she asked, hoping to get some information from the naive assistant.

Bridgette just let out a shiver at the memory. "It was an awful time, so many people were killed..." she trailed off and shook her head. "It's so nice to see that your father wasn't so far gone from all that his father did to him. When it was in the papers about how Lucius killed his own wife right before your parents and Mr. Potter killed him...I didn't think any of them would be the same again."

Ember's eyes were wide, the expression of shock she wore was very much apparent. "My grandfather killed my grandmother? His own wife?" she repeated, making Bridgette shoot her a confused look.

"Did you not know that dear?" she asked, afraid of what she might have just revealed to the young girl.

"Uh, yeah, I did, it's just always so shocking to hear it again," she said, quickly recovering from her state of shock.

"Ah, Mrs. Weasley, how are you today?" Bridgette asked, making Ember turn to see her aunt walking up to them.

"Good afternoon Bridgette, I'm doing well, thank you. Hey Ember, I came by to grab you for some lunch." Hermione said with a bright smile.

Ember just stared at her for a few moments before she finally was pulled free from the overwhelming amount of information that filled her head. "Oh, yeah, sure," she said, standing up and following her.

Ember walked beside her in silence before Hermione took notice. "What's troubling you?"

"Oh, nothing, just tired I guess, have to get used to waking up early and adjusting to the work life," she said with a small smile.

Hermione gave an amused nod, "Yes, indeed, I always thought it admirable that your father still works even though he doesn't have to."

"He probably does it to keep busy and his mind off of the past," Ember said suddenly.

"I suppose," Hermione said, giving her a side glance. "Do you resent your father for making you get a job regardless of your wealth?"

"Not at all, as much as it seems like I'm annoyed about going out and getting a job I like that Mum and Dad have never always handed us everything. I like that they make us work for what we want, I would assume after a while of living a wealthy lifestyle, it might get boring and turn someone into something they're not," she said with a shrug.

Hermione just smiled at her. "I think you're absolutely right."

They arrived in Diagon Alley and went to a small cafe where they met up with Ron, Ginny, Scorpius, and little Ava.

"Hey baby, how's your first day going?" Ginny asked as she grabbed her oldest daughter into a quick hug.

"Eh, it's ok," she said, looking at Scorpius and then smiling smugly at him. "How's the job search coming?" she asked, but really just wanting to rub it in his face that she had a job and he didn't.

He pulled his straw out of his water and whipped it at her as a few drops of water splashed on her face.

"Enough you two, Ava is behaving better than you both." Ginny snapped, squeezing Ava's little thigh making her giggle.

"Are Draco and Harry not joining us today?" Ron asked.

"Afraid not, they had to go into the field today," Hermione explained.

They all put their orders in and got lost in some light conversation as they waited for their meal. Ember thought back to her conversation with Adwell's assistant Bridgette and how much information she unknowingly divulged to her.

"So your birthdays are coming up soon, eighteen, I can't believe it's been that long," Ron said, thinking back to the day Ginny let them all know she was pregnant.

"I know," Ginny said with a smile as she looked at Ember and Scorpius. "I love you both so much." her eyes welled with tears at the memory of holding them for the first time.

"Alright, Mum, you don't have to get all sentimental on us and besides, Scorpius doesn't even have a job yet so I'm sure he'll live at home forever," Ember teased.

"Screw you, Ember," he snarled at her as he threw a piece of lettuce from his hamburger that had only arrived moments ago.

When it fell on her shirt and there was some mustard attached to it, she picked up her glass of water and went to throw it at him when he turned it to ice. She looked at the cup and turned it upside down and grew angry at the block of ice inside it. She turned it back around and went to throw it at him once more, this time her hand melting the ice and watched the water hit his chest.

He hissed in pain as the water was a lot hotter than Ember thought it would be.

"EMBER!" Ginny snapped, leaning into both of them. "Do not use your powers out in public, especially for silly things like this," she said through clenched teeth as she waved her wand at Ember's mustard stain, making it disappear.

"You're such an exaggerator, acting like I actually burned you, you're a bloody ice cube for crying out loud," Ember growled out to him.

He just looked at her with a smug smile.

"Anyway, your father and I would like to have a party for you two," Ginny said.

Ember and Scorpius exchanged a look and smiled, forgetting their small feud. Again, Ginny and Draco didn't constantly give their children everything they wanted just because they could. Ginny loved this about Draco and she didn't want the kids growing up to be some stuck-up rich kids like Draco was when she first met him. They went big and extravagant when it mattered most and parties was one of them, especially when it came to birthdays. When Ember and Scorpius finished their last year at Hogwarts the party their parents threw for them was something they would never forget. They always had such an amazing time and it always reminded them of how lucky they were to have Ginny and Draco as their parents.

"Is that something you both would enjoy?" Ginny asked, a smirk already tugging at her lips.

"Definitely." they both said together.

* * *

"AURORA! HEY, WAIT UP!"

She kept walking, a wide smile stretching across her face as she heard his footsteps get closer as he ran to catch up with her.

"Hey, can I walk with you?" he asked.

"Hey James, sure." she said.

"Are you all settled in?"

"Just about, you?"

He nodded. "What are you doing later, after dinner?"

She looked at him for a quick moment. "Oh, probably the usual, sneak up to the Astronomy tower and read."

"You want some company?"

She gave a soft laugh. "You know you're more than welcome, besides, it was originally our thing anyway... you're the one who stopped coming after a while."

He scratched the back on his head as he felt bad for not accompanying her like they always did all these years at school. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry for James, you're a rather handsome young man and it was only a matter of time before girls got in the middle of our friendship," she said with a shrug.

His stomach sank at her comment. "It's not like that Aurora."

She stopped and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok, maybe a little and I'm sorry for that, it was wrong to-"

"James, you don't have to apologize, I'm not angry or upset so you can stop defending yourself. I'm just merely stating the facts, so if you would like, I will be up in the Astronomy tower tonight after dinner to read a book. If you choose to meet me there that would be more than ok and I will happily toss my book aside to get lost in some good conversation." she said with a smile before taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze.

She turned and headed into the Great Hall, her silky platinum strands dancing across her back with every step she took. James couldn't take his eyes off of her, his feelings over the last year towards Aurora scared him a bit. They were such good friends, in fact, he could have sworn he was probably her only friend and he didn't want to ruin that. He knew she didn't feel anything near as fond of him as he was of her, she only saw him as a friend and nothing more. Sure, he had a couple of girlfriends over the years and they may have put his and Aurora's friendship on the back burner, but recently he had realized how much he enjoyed her company.

He was worried to act on his feelings towards her for a few reasons, not just because he was afraid of destroying their friendship. The other was, of course, her reaction, he wasn't sure if he could handle her rejecting him. The other being her father, Draco, sure he said he wasn't afraid of him, but if he was as overprotective of his daughters as he seemed to be then he didn't want him keeping them apart over a possible relationship forming. He had one other reason but decided he couldn't think any more on the subject.

Pushing all feelings and thoughts aside, he followed her into the Great Hall and took a seat as they waited for the sorting ceremony to start.

* * *

"Why are you nervous? Raven is a really nice girl, I'm sure Mum and Dad will like her." Ember said, throwing herself back on his bed and watching him look himself over in the mirror.

Scorpius smoothed a few pieces of his hair down once more before he turned to face her. "It's Dad, he's very blunt, if he doesn't like her he will say it right to her face."

"Yeah, so? It's better than him pretending he likes her, right?"

He just shot her a slight sneer before he turned back to the mirror. "What about Noah? Dad is definitely not going to like him," he said, amusement in his voice.

"Why? What's wrong with Noah?" she asked, sliding off the bed and walking up behind him.

"Well, for starters, you both are the total opposite of each other, you have nothing in common and if I'm being honest..." he turned to face her once more. "He's a bit of a pussy."

She gave him a hard shove and put her hands on her hips. "HE IS NOT!"

He threw his hands up in surrender before he shrugged. "Just calling it as I see it."

"You know nothing about him."

"He's a boring, spoiled, uptight little prat who doesn't like being told no to. Also, just so you're aware, he is not as into as you think he is. He is using you, he just wants to get in your pants."

She glared at him, her fists balled tightly, but she didn't say anything. Mostly she didn't say anything because a lot of what he said was true, but she wanted to see past all of that because Noah was nice to her. Most of their friendship formed by him pretending to like the same things she did just so he could get closer to her. One day he unexpectedly kissed her and she wasn't sure how to react. She was just surprised that he thought of her in that type of way. When he came clean to her about pretending to have the same interests, she was more flattered than anything that he went through all of that just to impress her. She wasn't really sure if she was in a relationship or not with him, they made out every now and again and sometimes it was hot and heavy but that's all it ever got to.

She suddenly heard the doorbell and quickly made her way downstairs, Scorpius was close behind her. By the time they both got downstairs, their parents were already opening the door where both Noah and Raven were standing in the foyer. Ember and Scorpius exchanged a quick look before they joined them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Raven, you came," Scorpius said in surprise.

"Well, of course, you did invite me, right?" she asked with a small giggle, but slight confusion on her face.

"Yes, of course, I just mean, um-"

"I'm Scorpius' father Draco and this is my wife Ginny. I'm sure you know Ember from school." he nodded to his oldest daughter who gave her a wave hello. "Scorpius, why don't you show Raven to the dining room."

Scorpius locked eyes with his dad and he gave a silent thank you as he fumbled for words. Of course, he invited Raven over for dinner, but he was worried she wouldn't come and maybe thought it might be too soon to meet them or scare her away with how serious it may seem.

Draco and Ginny turned their attention to Noah.

"Mr. Malfoy, it's nice to finally meet you and its nice to see you again Mrs. Malfoy," he said to Ginny.

Ginny's thoughts went back to the other day in Diagon Alley when she ran into Noah's father.

She nodded at his comment with a smile. "How is your father?"

"Very well, thank you," he answered before he looked at Ember. "Ember, you look lovely this evening."

Draco rolled his eyes before he glared at the young man. Ember seemed to have caught this and grabbed Noah's hand and dragged him to the dining room.

Ginny laced her fingers with Draco's as they followed Ember and Noah. "Calm yourself, Draco. She's an adult now, you need to accept that. Right now, it's your job to make sure this guy doesn't seem shady and all checks out. So focus on that and not the fact that they may or may not have an intimate relationship," she whispered to him in a soft voice.

He nodded at her words without looking at her, the only thing his eyes were set on was Noah's hand on the small of Ember's back as he guided her over to a chair that he pulled out. They had barely started eating when Draco started grilling Noah.

"So Noah, tell us, what have you been up to since you've been out of school? Do you have a job or career plan set?" Draco asked, a bit of a sneer on his face.

"Actually Mr. Malfoy, I will probably be joining my father at the Ministry. My Uncle as you know works in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and my father works alongside him."

"Doing what exactly?" Ginny asked.

"He works mostly in the lab in the lower levels, he conducts studies and testing on individuals that were involved in some of their cases," he explained.

"You mean people with magical abilities?" Ginny asked.

"Well, we all have magical abilities."

"People with unexplained powers?" she rephrased her question.

He was quiet for a moment before he answered her. "I'm not sure Mrs. Malfoy, I never really understood what he does for a living."

"Then why would you take up a career doing something you know nothing of?" Draco snapped.

"Because it's what my father wants," he answered, his tone dismissive.

Draco didn't push the subject further; if there was one thing he understood it was being forced into doing something because your parents wanted you to do it.

Ginny turned her attention towards Scorpius and Raven. "What about you Raven, any career plans yet?"

"Yes, indeed, I am currently training to be a Healer," she said.

"Very nice, a good choice. Scorpius is still deciding on what he wants to do, although he knows practically everything and anything so he just needs to make up his mind at his point," Ginny said with a small laugh as she gave Scorpius a smile.

"I'm sure whatever you finally choose to do Scorpius, you will be amazing at it," Raven said, locking eyes with him for a moment.

"Raven, how is Blaise doing? I haven't spoken to him since our Hogwarts days." Draco asked.

"He is doing well, my parents are going through a divorce right now so he's taking that pretty hard, but otherwise all is good," she said, planting a small smile on her face.

"Sorry to hear that," Ginny said, giving her a sad look.

The rest of dinner went by in light conversation. Ginny thought Raven was quite sweet and liked seeing that she seemed supportive of Scorpius' decisions. She couldn't help but wonder if Blaise would be upset by the fact that his daughter was dating someone with no job or career plan ahead of them. As for Noah, both she and Draco just didn't get a good vibe off of him, sure he was sweet, but something seemed off. She figured it was just what his father and uncle did for a living and after her encounter with him the other day her thoughts were all over the place with this kid.

* * *

Her laugh filled the room and a smile crept across his face when he heard it. He looked at the moonlight shining off of her blonde hair as it poured into the astronomy tower. Her eyes lit up like two diamonds when she looked up at him and tucked a piece of her platinum hair behind her ear.

"I miss this," Aurora said, folding her legs and sitting face to face with James.

"Me too, I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend to you," he said, looking down at his fidgeting hands in his lap.

"Well, to be honest, I probably expect way too much from you to be by my side as my friend all the time. In reality...if I had any friends it probably wouldn't bother me too much that you're off doing your own thing," she said with a sad smile.

"Are you saying if you had more friends you'd be ok with me not being around?" he asked with a smirk.

She lightly pushed his shoulder back. "No, I didn't mean it like that." she giggled.

She watched him for a moment, she could tell he had more on his mind than he was saying. She caught his gaze when he glanced back up at her.

"What?" he asked with a smile.

"You tell me, something is weighing on your mind?"

His expression turned more serious before he looked at her again. "I want to show you something, but...I don't want you to think any different of me."

She just smiled at him. "Well, I already think you're an arrogant prick, so I'm sure it can't get any worse." she laughed.

He gave a small laugh at her playful insult.

"James, you're my best friend, nothing you could possibly show me would make me think any less of you," she said.

He stared at her for a few moments before he put his hand up in front of her, his palm facing her. She looked at him for a moment before she took her hand and pushed her palm against his.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a playful smile dancing across her face.

He just looked at their hands against each other, feeling her touch made his stomach erupt into butterflies...she looked so beautiful right now.

"James? What are we-" she stopped and looked at their hands when she had a feeling of pins and needles run through her fingers.

James moved his hand away from hers a few inches and her eyes grew wide when she saw what formed between their palms. There were these flashes of electrical waves that trickled across from his fingers into hers, the feeling was something she had never felt before.

"Whoa," she whispered out until finally, a wide smile crossed her face.

When James saw her smile, he thought his heart would explode from happiness. He started laughing when he saw strands of her hair start to frizz all around her. When she noticed it she giggled and then locked eyes with him.

"Now I want to show you something," she said, as she kept her hand where it was.

James kept the electrical waves going between their hands as he watched her. She looked at their palms and soon the tingling in her fingers stopped and the static in her hair fell before the waves between then slowed down and became frozen in place. James watched the electrical current from her hand to his become these long, thin abstract pieces of ice. He felt the coldness hit his fingertips, making all electrical current in his body come to a stop.

He couldn't help but smile at seeing his powers frozen in place, it was quite beautiful to see. They locked eyes again and their palms were against each other once more, this time their fingers laced. James couldn't take the ache in his heart anymore, he had to kiss her and he did. He was surprised when he leaned forward and she met him halfway, his lips turning cold from her powers and hers starting to tingle from his. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was everything he had ever imagined it to be.

They broke apart and they just looked at each other for another moment before Aurora blushed a bit and broke their gaze.

"That's pretty amazing what you can do," she said. "Have you told your dad?"

"Nah, I only found out about them a few weeks ago...I don't know how he would take it." he shrugged. "What about you?"

She shook her head. "No, I've had mine for about two months now, I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, people already think I'm weird and don't like me very much. I have some trouble controlling them sometimes though." she said, hanging her head a bit.

"Well, Scorpius and Ember practice with theirs, maybe you should tell your parents so they can help you," he suggested.

She looked at him again and smiled. "Maybe, what about you?"

"I don't know, it's not like my father has any special abilities, so to show him this would go a lot different than how your parents would take it. I mean they probably would expect something like that to happen; it's understandable because they have them. For me though, my parents would probably be scratching their heads as to why and how I formed these."

"Maybe your parents do have them but just haven't told you?" she suggested.

He laughed. "I doubt it, but I'll think about telling them if you do the same...deal?" he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She smiled at his outstretched hand for a moment before she took it. "Deal."

 **A/N: Ok, so your thoughts? What do you think of the relationship between Aurora and James? What are your thoughts on Noah's Uncle Mr. Adwell?**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to the few people who have reviewed so far, it means a lot.**

 **Please be sure to check out my Facebook page where I post updates, polls and discussions on my current and previous work. The link can be found on my profile page. Thanks!**

 **Enjoy!**

Ginny smiled down at the letter in her hands before she looked back up at Draco sitting at the table trying to persuade Ava to eat her eggs. She let out a silent giggle when he resorted to silly facial expressions to get her to eat them. She walked over and leaned over his chair and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before she sat down and handed him the letter.

"She was sorted into Slytherin," she said with a smirk.

Draco gave a wide smile before reading the letter from Harper. "That's my girl."

Ginny just shook her head. "I don't want to even think about what the next few days will bring." she sighed in amusement before turning to Scorpius and Ember who were both quiet this morning. "Not very vocal this morning, something on your mind?"

Scorpius just looked up at her and shook his head before he went back to his food, while Ember, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it.

"Raven seems like a very sweet girl, when do you plan to see her again?" Ginny asked her son whose nose was in a book as he took a bite of his toast.

He just shrugged without looking up.

Ginny just nodded at his lack of conversation. "What about Noah? When does he plan to start working with his dad?" she asked, looking at Ember.

"Why does it matter? You guys hate him anyway."

Draco and Ginny exchanged a quick look.

"We didn't say we hated him, sweetie, we are just being cautious," Ginny explained.

"Of what? All because his father and his uncle work at the Ministry and his father asked to help me fine tune my powers makes them all sketchy?" she snapped.

"Calm down, that's not what we're saying-"

"That is what you're saying, you know they could actually help people...people like me...like us."

"What kind of help do you think they could possibly offer?" Draco asked her, folding his hands and resting his elbows on the table.

"How to control them, how to use them, how to make them more powerful."

"Yes, but you don't have trouble controlling them, you know how to use them and there is no reason for your powers to become more powerful," Draco stated. "You need to focus on bettering yourself, not your powers. So stop focusing on trying to perfect those when you have a whole life ahead of you that needs attention."

She just looked her father, she wanted to fight him on what he said, but she stopped to let his words sink in. Why did she want her powers to become stronger? There really was no reason for it, she almost thought it was just because she wanted to be better than Scorpius when it came to their powers. She let all her anger that was bubbling up, calm down before she nodded at his words and then excused herself and left the room.

* * *

A wave of heat filled her body, all the way to the end of her fingertips and down to her toes. She couldn't tell if it was real or just part of a dream she was having that she couldn't wake up from. Why was she in so much pain? Why was her body screaming for relief and it didn't come? A tingling feeling started to run throughout her body, she could feel the freezing cold starting to fill her veins bringing some of that relief her mind was begging for. Soon the coldness became unbearable and a sharp pain ran through her head as she grabbed it in agony releasing a frustrated growl as the throbbing in her head grew. Once more she felt this eruption of heat explode in the pit of her stomach and spread like a wildfire throughout her limbs making her eyes finally snap open as she jolted up out of her sleep.

Ellie looked around the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory to see if her thrashing about woke anyone and was relieved when she saw it hadn't. She went to run a hand through her hair when her hand ran over what felt like frost stuck throughout her strands. She let out a shaky breath as she realized her dream was actually reality and she went to get out of bed when she slipped on the floor and fell on a patch of ice. Her heart started racing as she pulled herself up onto her bed, her eyes taking in her singed pillowcase and her burnt blanket. She looked around the room once more to see if anyone had woken up. When she saw all the girls were still asleep, she grabbed her wand, then her pillow and blanket and ran to the bathroom.

She barely had a pillow left, it smelled horrid and she quickly waved her wand and shrunk it to the side of a quarter along with her blanket and flushed them down the toilet. She sat on the floor against the wall in the bathroom and tried to catch her breath. She had an idea of what was happening to her, but she didn't want to believe it. Was she starting to develop powers like her parents and if so, was it supposed to be this painful? She noticed her fingertips were completely blue and freezing cold and she quickly pulled herself up from the floor to look in the mirror. She let out a light gasp when she saw her reflection. The veins in her arms and all the way up to her neck were very distinct with a blue and purple color as it traveled up into the side of her face by her ear, they almost looked like bruises or frost bite throughout her veins.

She held her arms out in front of her and watched it spread to her forearms before she felt the fear fill her and the tears in her eyes start to burn.

"What is wrong with me?" she softly cried to herself.

She didn't want anyone in school to see her like this, she could only imagine what they would say or think. People already said enough stuff about their parents and she saw the way poor Aurora constantly got the blunt end of all the bullying. As her heart continued to race, she felt the temperature rise once more in her body and this time it was an unbearable burning sensation. She practically screamed out when her hand was engulfed in flames. She threw the water on and frantically patted her hand and sleeve down with water to extinguish the flame before her eyes fell on the girls' showers down the hall. She quickly made a run for them as she felt her blood boiling, the flicker of flames catching her eye as they danced off of her shoulders and hair. She turned on the shower and stood under the ice-cold water until she could feel her body start to cool down.

She buried her face in her hands as she started to cry. She slumped to the ground in a ball and hugged her knees to her chest as the stream of water started slowing down and soon she could feel the icy shards starting to form as the shower froze over. Her soaking wet hair became covered with frost once more and she stopped fighting it altogether. It hurt less when she just let it run its course...she just wanted the pain to stop.

* * *

His lips were on hers again, his kisses were hard and sloppy as he pinned her against the wall, the shelf behind her back digging into her. She put her hand on his chest to push him back a bit, but he just kissed her harder. She pulled her head back from him and pushed a bit harder this time.

"Chill out," she said.

"Relax, can you blame me for getting lost in the moment," he said with a handsome smile.

She gave a small smile before she shook her head at him when his lips were on hers again, this time a bit slower. When she started kissing him back his kissing became fast and hard once more, this time his hands groping her chest. She quickly grabbed his hand and moved it and instead he slipped his other hand down to the waistband of her pants when she shoved him back hard.

"Noah, seriously, chill out." she snapped, anger covering her face.

"What's your deal Ember? You're the one who wanted me to come see you on your lunch break."

"Yes, to actually have lunch, not so you can try to shag me in the broom closet," she said, pushing the door open and walking past him.

She wiped her mouth from all his slobber and adjust her bra and shirt as she made her way down the hall back to her desk.

"We've been friends for almost two years now and dating for a couple of months, when do you think you'll be ready to do something more than just make out with me? You're kind of just becoming a tease now," he said with some amusement.

"Ugh, do you know how much of a pig you sound like right now?" she said, folding her arms and looking at him. "Is that what you're waiting for? Because if that's the only reason-"

"It's not," he said, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "I really do care about you Ember, but I'm a guy with needs and you make it very hard for me to ignore those needs." he lightly joked.

She just shook her head at him before she gave in to his smile. "If my parents only knew how you really acted when you weren't around them."

He pulled her to him again and covered her mouth with his.

"Hello Noah," came a voice from behind them suddenly.

Ember quickly broke the kiss and wiped her mouth. "Mum, what are you doing here?"

Ginny smiled at her and then to Noah, her smile sweet, but her eyes deadly as she glared at him. "I just thought I'd see you on your lunch break, but I see you already found lunch inside of Noah's mouth."

"Hi Mrs. Malfoy...uh, I should go, see ya Ember." he quickly said before he took off down the hall.

Ginny turned back to Ember. "What a lovely young man," she said sarcastically.

Ember just ignored her comment and took a seat behind her desk. "I'm going to be eighteen soon, I think I can make out with whomever I choose."

"Very true, especially right in the middle of the hall where you work," Ginny added.

"Geez, Mum, it's not like I'm out having sex and getting pregnant." she snapped, referring to Ginny's past.

Ginny just looked at her.

"Sorry," Ember mumbled. "I really just wanted to have lunch with him and it just happened," she explained.

Ginny took a seat across from her. "Sweetie, I know you're at that age now so I'm not expecting you to hold out much longer, unfortunately. I just want you to be safe and smart when that time comes...that time hasn't happened yet has it?" she asked, her face twisting into a look of uncertainty.

"No, Mum, I'm still a virgin, so relax," she said rolling her eyes.

Ginny turned her head to see Jack Adwell and his brother Robert walk out of his office.

"Mrs. Malfoy, lovely seeing you again," Jack said.

"Noah is waiting for you outside," Ember said when she saw him looking around for his son.

He nodded a quick thanks and started walking away when Ginny got up and stopped him.

"Mr. Adwell?"

He turned and gave her a small smile.

"I just wanted to apologize about the other day in Diagon Alley, I-"

"Mrs. Malfoy, there is no need for apologies; it's I who should be apologizing. I came off way too strong, it is a very sensitive matter and I meant in no way to upset you to that level," he said.

She just gave him a small smile and nodded.

He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. "The offer is still open though."

She looked down at the card in her hand before she slid it in her pocket and made her way back over to Ember. "So, are you hungry?"

* * *

Ginny watched Ember for a few moments from across the table, she only picked at her food. She could tell something was on her mind.

"So where's Ava?" Ember asked her once she saw her eyes on her.

"She's with Grandma; she needs a distraction today because Grandpa isn't doing too well," Ginny said, looking down at the food in front of her.

A frown formed on Ember's face when she watched her mother's smile vanish, she was incredibly close with her parents, they were all really close. She tried to think of something to get her mum's mind off of her sick father.

"Mum, how did you know when you were ready to be...you know...intimate with someone for the first time?"

Ginny snapped her eyes up to her. "Are you-?"

"Noah wants to, but I don't know if I want to...yet anyway."

Ginny smiled at her. "And that's perfectly fine, is Noah ok with that?"

"I think so, but he seems impatient about it."

"Well then he isn't ok with it and I don't want him pressuring you to do something you're not ready for."

"I get it, but how do I know I'm ready. I mean, I want to but sometimes when I think I want to...it doesn't feel right." She furrowed her eyebrows when she started confusing herself with her own feelings on the subject.

"When I was with your father for the first time...it felt right. I was so sure of it...he was too, he just didn't know it yet." she laughed, making Ember let out a giggle.

They were both quiet for a moment before Ember looked up and locked eyes with her mother. "Mum, are you ever going to tell us more about our grandfather Lucius?" she asked suddenly. The conversation Bridgette had with her the other day was weighing on her mind.

Ginny thought back to the conversation she and Scorpius had not too long ago and gave Ember a small smile. "I think your lunch break is over."

Ember slouched back in her chair in defeat and shook her head. "You know, you won't be able to avoid that conversation forever." she snapped, getting up from her seat.

"I'm not avoiding it." Ginny lied as she threw money on the table and followed her.

"You are, I know there's a shit load of stuff that went down and you and Dad won't tell us anything."

"What kind of stuff do you know?" Ginny asked.

"How about that he killed our grandmother, or that you, Dad and Harry were the ones who killed him?"

"Where did you hear that? This is only one of the reasons why we didn't want you working at the-"

"ARE YOU KIDDING? IT DOESN'T MATTER, IF I DIDN'T HEAR IT HERE ,THEN I WOULD'VE HEARD SOMEWHERE ELSE!" she yelled.

"Ember-"

"Just forget it, Mum, I'll just continue to hear about it all second hand." she fumed before she apparated out of sight.

* * *

"Hey, buddy, you ready for detention tonight?" James asked, throwing his arm around Aurora's shoulders as they walked to lunch.

She just gave him a small smirk. "Less than a week at school and you've already managed to land us both in detention."

"Me? It was your laugh that echoed throughout the hall on our way back from the Astronomy tower that drew attention to us."

"Yes, but you made me laugh." she clarified.

"Ok, fine, I'll take the blame."

They glanced at each other for a quick moment; neither of them had spoken about the kiss they shared the other night. James didn't know how she really felt about it; it could have just been that she was wrapped up in the moment between them. They continued walking when Lori Chapman came walking up to them, one of the students Aurora had gone nose to nose with over the years.

"Hey James, I'm free tonight if you want to hang out again," she said, playing with a piece of his hair that was out of place.

He saw Aurora's face sink when she heard that he and Lori had hung out previously.

"Uh, I can't, I actually have detention tonight."

"Oh, that's too bad, maybe another time," she said sweetly before turning to Aurora and slapping her books out of her hand before she started walking away. "See ya, freak." she laughed.

Aurora just glared after her before she knelt down to collect her books. James quickly started to help her when she started grabbing them as fast as she could before he could get to them.

"Aurora-"

"It's fine James, you can hang out with whoever you want," she stated before she stood once more.

"Nothing happened, she asked for me to help her study and-"

"You don't have to explain, its fine. It's just...you know what she and her friends have done to me over the years. How they treated me...how many times I've cried over the mean things they said and did; why would you want to hang out with someone like that? I thought we were friends?" she said, her voice desperately trying to hide the hurt she felt.

"You're right and I have no excuses, I didn't mean to hurt you or-"

"Honestly James, let's just forget it, let's forget everything," she said suddenly, looking at him, he knew she meant the kiss as well. "I'll see you in detention tonight," she said before she walked as fast as she could ahead of him.

* * *

Ginny went to knock on the door to Draco's office at the Ministry when she saw it was already slightly open and Harry and Hermione were in there.

"Oh, hey guys, may I intrude a moment?" she asked, popping her head in.

She and Draco's eyes always found each other and a smile stretched across her face as she walked over and gave him a quick kiss. "I just came from attempting to have lunch with our daughter."

"Oh yeah? How did that go?" he asked, a slight smirk already forming.

She plopped down in the seat beside Harry and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, his tone more serious when he saw she looked upset.

"Draco, she's asking questions...about Lucius."

He just looked at her. "Why? What did she ask? Did someone here-"

"Draco, it's not just her, Scorpius asked me the other day too. Apparently, there are many theories about the past of the Malfoys and the Weasleys. Scorpius said there's been talk for years... I don't want them to believe something that isn't true."

"Have you thought about just telling them?" Harry asked.

Draco glared at him. "That's a great idea, why don't we tell James about your secret powers too," he said sarcastically.

"Alright, calm down. I'm just saying, a lot of this stuff they could find in some old copy of the Daily Prophet, but the details...the ones that matter, you don't want them reading or hearing that from someone else. Why not just tell them a general recap of their grandparents' lives and take it from there?"

Hermione sighed at Harry's words. "He's right, even Rose and Hugo are asking questions about things they've heard in school. Ron and I have discussed sitting down and talking with them a bit on the subject."

Ginny locked eyes with Draco before she gave him a small smile. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, he had a lot of doubt and guilt back then and she knew it would be a challenge for him to relive those days again.

* * *

"Scorpius?" she called his name, but he was deep in thought. "Hey?" she gently placed her hand on his arm.

He snapped his head to the side to look at her, dark brown hair falling around her thin face and her green eyes staring into his. He looked away, his heart was racing and he didn't cry very often and he didn't want to lose his composure in front of her.

"How long does this test take?" he asked Raven, clearing his throat of any emotion.

She looked down at her stomach, "A few minutes," she said.

"I can't believe this, how stupid can I be?" he said out loud. "What the hell was I thinking?"

"Scorpius, calm down,"

"Calm down? Raven, this test needs to be negative because my parents will kill me, literally kill me. No, actually scratch that, your dad is going to kill me first." He went off into a panic, grabbing his hair in frustration. "I'm supposed to be the good kid and look at where it's gotten me. There is no way I can tell my parents "Oh hey guys, so you know the girl you just met the other night, well she might be pregnant" FUCK!" he yelled throwing himself down on his bed.

Raven was taken aback by Scorpius' outburst, he never cursed and never showed any kind of anger or fear like he did right now. She let out a shaky breath when she looked down at the spell surrounding her stomach and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's negative."

He just stared at her; his heart was in his throat as he desperately tried to swallow it. He rubbed his hands over his face before they both looked at each other for a moment while the news set in. He saw a tear slide down her cheek which prompted him to walk over and gently pull her into a hug.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to freak out on you," he said softly.

"We have to be more careful next time."

"Next time?" he said, pulling back and looking at her. "Uh, I don't know about a next time," he said, letting her go and looking at the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pretty freaked out about what just almost could've been and I think...I think we should take a breather for a while," he said as he finally managed to muster up the courage to look her in the eyes again.

He regretted it right away as her eyes welled with tears. "So you're ending this?"

"No, I mean...no I don't want to end anything with you, but I need to refocus my attention on what I'm doing with my life. I mean, what if you were pregnant? I'd have no job...no way to support you or a child, what should I do, rely on my parents? I wouldn't...I couldn't...I think we both should just take a step back for now and focus on our careers."

She was silently crying at this point, but she nodded at his words. They had only been seeing each other for the past few months, but she grew to care a great deal about Scorpius.

He hugged her tightly this time, his hands held her close to him as she cried. He felt horrible, but he was scared to death of the thought of them being parents. His mind went back to all the times his parents had the sex talk with him and he rolled his eyes and insisted he knew all about it and the precautions to take.

"I care a lot about you Raven, I just need some...time to get things in order. I get it if you don't understand and I know how shitty it is for me to do this right after, but-"

"I know, maybe you're right, I'm just going to miss you."

"Well, we can still be friends for now until we decide to pick this up again, can't we?"

"I don't know Scorpius, I guess one day at a time, right?"

He just gave her a sad look before he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

Dinner that night at Malfoy Manor was very quiet; the normal conversation was replaced with awkward silence as everyone seemed to be deep in thought. Ginny looked at Scorpius and Ember, both of them were absent-mindedly pushing their food around their plate. She glanced over to Ava who was dozing off in her high chair, making her smile at the tiny redhead. She heard Draco clear his throat, which prompted the twins to look up at him.

"Um, so...your mother and I want to discuss something with you both." he started. When he saw he had their attention he continued. "We know you both have had a lot of questions lately about your grandparents...my parents." he clarified.

Scorpius and Ember exchanged a quick look before they both seemed to sit up a bit at the possibility of their parents sharing something with them.

"We don't really like talking about my father because he was an evil man...a very evil man. He killed my mother because she wouldn't stand by his side while he tore the world apart and tried to kill me, your mother, your grandparents...even the both of you."

They were both quiet for a few moments.

"Why would he want to kill you? Us?" Ember asked finally.

Ginny gave a quick glance at her husband and took over. "Well, you both know the history of Voldemort and his followers, his purpose and what they believed. Lucius felt the same way and wanted to still carry that out, but your father..." she looked over at Draco with a warm smile. "...your father realized that wasn't his path and he wanted no part of it. Lucius, though, he wouldn't accept this and soon when your dad went into hiding with my family it infuriated him."

"So was it true, then? The Malfoys and the Weasleys didn't get along?" Scorpius asked.

Ginny and Draco looked at each other. "Our families hated each other, although, in their defense, it was the Malfoys who set the tone," Draco explained.

"So how the bloody hell did you two end up married?" Ember asked in amusement.

Ginny's mind went back to that night almost eighteen years ago in Warren's office; she remembered how thankful she was Draco had detention that night. She remembered how he followed her to the bathroom in his pathetic way of comforting her.

"That's a story for another night, but let's just say...we were there for each other during some dark times," she said, locking eyes with Draco and reached forward to lace her fingers with his.

"There is a lot more to our past and if you guys have questions we will try our best to answer them, but don't go believing everything you hear out there," Draco said.

They both nodded.

"Is it true that the both of you and Harry killed him, then?" Ember asked.

They both nodded.

"When Ginny and I first realized we had these powers it was during a very dark time and forced us to use them in ways we never would imagine. That's why we wanted you both to learn how to get them under control so that you never do anything you'll regret with them." Draco said, looking at his two oldest children, his heart sinking a bit at the look on their faces as they realized what he meant.

Ginny noticed this and turned to both of them. "Listen to me, the world was very different and very dangerous before you were born. We both lost a lot and went through hell, first when Voldemort was still around and then with Lucius. We all do things sometimes we regret and when I found out I was having you guys I was scared, we both were." she said, her voice cracking a bit with emotion. "And during that time I made sure NOBODY would ever hurt you guys, I didn't care what that meant or what I had to do to make sure you both were safe."

The table was filled with silence; just the sound of a few of Ginny's sniffles before she dried her eyes and composed herself.

"I think that's enough on the subject tonight. Why don't you both head up to your rooms." Draco said softly to them.

They both nodded and started walking out of the room when Ember stopped and exchanged a look with her brother. They watched their parents from the doorway; they watched their father pull their mother into a comforting hug and said something most likely sarcastic to her that caused her to give a small laugh through her still wet eyes.

"Mum...Dad?" Ember called, walking towards them.

They both looked at her.

"Thanks for telling us a bit about your past...I know that must have been hard for you guys to share."

Ginny just smiled at her when she felt Draco pull her into his arms.

"And for the record, you guys are pretty badass parents. So thanks for being so awesome," she said before she and Scorpius left the room.

* * *

James walked into the Herbology classroom and took a seat at the front of the room. He saw Neville walk out of his small office and place some cutting tools down in front of him.

"Evening James."

"Evening Professor, I assume we're prepping for class tomorrow as detention?"

"Right you are," he said, placing a big basket of different ingredients and plants before him. "Some of these just need a trim and some of these need be cut up. Hey Aurora," he called as she made her way into the classroom and took a seat at the front beside James.

"I suppose it could be worse, are you going to Ember and Scorpius' birthday party next weekend?" James asked.

"Of course, like I'd miss a party thrown at the Manor." he scoffed. "Anyway, I need to see the Headmistress about a few things so I'll be back in a little while. Get to cutting, I may be a friend of your parents, but I'm still your Professor," he said sternly before leaving the classroom.

Once he was gone James turned his attention to Aurora, she was quiet and had her head down. A frown formed on his face and he just grabbed one of the plants and started trimming a few dead leaves.

"I guess you're still not talking to me," he said.

She stayed silent as he watched her try to cut up some Dittany leaves and noticed her hand trembling.

"Aurora?"

She looked at him, her cheek was bruised and she had what looked like nail marks on her chin and by her eye.

"What happened to you?"

She sighed and laid her forehead down on the desk. "Chapman, we exchanged some words and then she and her friends jumped me in the girls' bathroom."

He looked at her trembling hands again. "Are you ok?"

She followed his gaze to her shaking hands. "Yes, it's just..." she trailed off and closed her eyes tightly; she seemed to be concentrating on something.

"It's just what?" he asked, turning in his seat to look at her better.

He watched the blade in her hand cover in ice and then the Dittany leaves that were in her other hand.

"I'm just a bit riled up from the fight earlier." she finished.

He got up and squatted down beside her desk to look into her eyes. He gently grabbed both her hands with his.

"Aurora, you're the one in control, don't let your anger get in the way of that."

She opened her eyes to look at him; they looked like two crystals staring back. He thought at one point she had mentally checked out. He felt his fingertips on her hand start to turn cold and he brought his hand up to her cheek and caressed it lightly.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to show you such disrespect by hanging out with Lori. I hate that I hurt you like that and now this..." he trailed off.

His heart ached to see her soft pale face bruised and scratched up. He never saw Aurora angry or have a temper ever, so to see her struggling with holding her powers in, made him feel guilty. He knew she was hurt after finding out he associated with someone who had been her school rival since the first year. Then after what happened in the girls' bathroom, he could tell she was getting ready to snap.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds and focused on the feel of his hand against her cheek. She could tell by the tone of his voice how bad he felt about earlier and she didn't expect to stay mad at him at all. She wasn't one to really get angry, she always just shrugged things off; she didn't even fight back when it came to Lori Chapman and her friends.

She opened her eyes to look at him, her piercing blue ones locked with his and she gave him a small smile. She felt herself regain control and let out a breath of relief before she picked up her blade again and went back to her Dittany leaves.

"You're lucky you're charming, James Potter," she said with a side glance at him.

He just smirked at her before he took his seat again and started going into some story in Potions class earlier that had her filling the room with her laugh.

* * *

Ember flipped through the Daily Prophet for the tenth time before she glanced out the window of the coffee shop to see if Noah was making his way in. She let out a sigh when she saw there was still no sign of him and then looked at her watch. Her lunch hour was halfway over with already and she shook her head in annoyance at his lack of punctuality.

"Here you go."

She snapped her head up to see a young man placing a cup of coffee down in front of her.

"It looks like whoever you're waiting for is running behind so thought you might like something in the meantime," he said with a smile.

"Oh, thank you," she said, looking up at him.

He was quite handsome and he couldn't have been a couple of years older than she was. His hair was styled with just a few strands hanging in his face, but it looked so soft she found herself wanting to run her fingers through it. His smile had captivated her and she soon realized she was staring at him and quickly reached in her pocket to get some money out.

"Oh, uh...here you go," she stumbled for words as she attempted to hand him the money.

"This one's on me," he said.

She smiled even wider at his comment. "Thanks."

They both were just staring at each other for a few moments before she realized how awkward it must have felt.

"I'm Ember by the way," she said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Jacob...or Jake, whichever you prefer," he said, gently shaking her hand. "So, you work at the Ministry?" He asked, gesturing to her outfit.

She looked at herself and then at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why would you assume that? You know us Malfoy's are known for our impeccable taste." she sarcastically boasted.

"Oh, so you're a Malfoy," he said with a bit of a smirk.

Ember kicked herself for bringing up her surname. "Sorry, I can only imagine the things you've heard about my family," she said, picking up the paper again.

"Actually, I really don't know anything about them, I mean only what I've read in the paper and a few rumors. I would never judge someone based off of the gossip that spreads around these parts. I only guessed the Ministry because there are not many other places of employment around here that would require such dress code." he said with a light laugh.

She smiled once he explained himself and then nodded. "Yes, I work at the Ministry, although not for much longer. My parents would rather I find work elsewhere and not get caught up in the drama there," she said, shaking her head at her parents' ridiculous reasoning.

"My mother is the same way, that's why I picked up a job here until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. We are actually looking for someone for a couple of hours a week if you're interested?"

"Really? Yeah, that would be great," she said happily.

"I wouldn't go quitting your job yet though, this place doesn't pay much."

She nodded with another smile before she finally saw Noah walking up to her. He pushed past Jacob and leaned down and kissed her.

"Sorry I'm late, I got sidetracked," he said, taking a seat across from her.

Ember glanced at Jacob once more as he gave her a quick wave and left the table as she listened to Noah go on and on about himself. She let out a light sigh and propped her chin up in her hand as she pretended to listen.

"What did you get sidetracked with?" she suddenly asked him, becoming annoyed after realizing she had almost waited her entire lunch hour for him.

"Stuff, I'm a busy guy, I have a lot going on." he shrugged.

"And I don't? You know I'm busy too, and I just waited almost an hour for you." she snapped.

"I hardly doubt you're that busy, I mean, you shuffle papers at a desk all day." he laughed.

She pushed her chair out and quickly got up and headed towards the door without a word. Within seconds he was beside her.

"Hey, chill out, I'm just kidding," he said, watching her ignore him and make her way outside. "Ember, hey, calm down, why are you acting like a drama queen?" he said, continuing to badger her about her attitude.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side to stop her from walking away.

"Would you just wait a damn minute?" he demanded.

"Why do you think you deserve another minute of my time? I already waited forty-five minutes for you to show up."

"I'm sorry ok? It was inconsiderate; I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry I made you waste your lunch break like that." he said, his tone genuine as he tucked a piece of her vibrant ginger hair behind her ear.

She just had her arms folded as she looked up at him and his apologetic eyes that beamed down at her.

"Come on...say you forgive me." he tried to persuade her with a charming smile.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly and she let out a small laugh before she shook her head. "FINE!" she gave in.

He pressed his lips against hers roughly and cupped her face in his hands. "If you want I can make it up to you tonight," he seductively whispered in her ear before placing a kiss just below her earlobe.

At first, she wanted to push him away, but the shiver that ran down her spine made her body melt in his arms.

"Why don't you come over tonight? My dad will probably be working so we'll have plenty of privacy," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his body.

"Um, I'll think about it, I have to see what my parents-"

"Your parents? You're an adult Ember; I think you can make your own plans for the night."

"I know, it's just-"

"Why don't you stop making up excuses. Are we dating or what? Because let me know if I'm wasting MY time."

She was quiet for a few moments, a part of her wanted to be angry at the way he spoke to her, but the other part of her tried to see things from his perspective. She had known Noah for a while now and he was always the one she went to about everything when they were at school. They were really good friends and soon they started developing feelings for each other. He was nothing but a gentleman to her always, but recently he wanted more out of their relationship.

"You're not wasting your time...I'll be there tonight."

 **A/N: So your thoughts? There is a lot happening in this one. What are your thoughts on Ellie? What about with Scorpius? I would love to hear what you guys are thinking? PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is chapter 5! I really hope you are all enjoying the story so far. I would love to get some more reviews on this so far and really see what you have been enjoying most about the chapters.**

 **If you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. I post chapter previews and updates on there on my current fics and anything else you guys might want to discuss.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter =D**

Draco smiled at the warmth that filled his pocket, his hand reaching inside as he removed the small stone. He thought back to the night Ginny gave him the charmed stone for his birthday. Every time she thought of him it would heat up, sometimes he couldn't help but laugh at how often it warmed up. He was forced to remove it from his pocket a few times because he couldn't take the distraction. Whenever he knew Ginny was thinking about him, he would start thinking about her and with how much the rock seemed to have a permanent rising temperature, it was hard to get any work done.

"Good Morning Draco, any letters yet from the kids?" Hermione asked as she took a seat in front of his desk.

"Yes, Harper sends a letter every day, sometimes twice. She is giving me a play by play of her time at Hogwarts. Riley wrote a few times, Aurora once and nothing from Ellie yet, what about Rose and Hugo?" he asked, placing the stone back in his pocket.

She let out a sad sigh. "Well, not as much as I would have liked. They are growing up too fast."

"Guess you better get cracking on a third one then?" he teased.

"Why do that when you have plenty to choose from?" she said with a giggle.

"Which one would you want?"

"Scorpius of course, he's the good one."

"Hell, no, he's my only son and besides...you're right, he is the good one."

"Nah, he's all grown up anyway, I'll take Ava."

"You can have Harper, but only on the weekends...I'll miss her too much."

"Are we swapping children?" Harry asked, walking in and placing a file down on Draco's desk. "If we are, I want Scorpius...he's the good one."

Hermione and Draco shared a quick laugh before he reached for the file. "Is this all of it?"

"Yes, Draco, anything and everything on Noah Adwell and his father," Harry said.

Hermione glowered at him, her eyes wide. "You didn't?"

"I just want to make sure-"

"Draco, you're doing background checks and investigating your daughter's boyfriend. I think you've gone mad." she lectured him. "Noah seems like a very nice boy."

"Yeah, there's not much in there on him, nothing really. The only thing on his dad is just some cases he's dealt with but nothing too concerning. Most of it is just about people he's helped." Harry explained.

"And the uncle, Robert Adwell?" Draco asked, flipping through the file.

"Can't find anything on him, there's just no file at all."

"Interesting," Draco said to himself.

"Is it? Or are you just wasting valuable time on nonsense when you could be on your way home to your family?"

Draco smiled at the rock in his pocket as it became warm once more when he decided to shut the file and call it a day.

* * *

Ellie was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room catching up on homework. She hated missing her classes, but with the lack of sleep she'd been getting from whatever changes her body was putting her through was making it hard for her to focus. She pulled the sleeve to her hoodie down more to hide the discolored markings along her veins. It almost looked like bruising and she really couldn't explain how or why it was happening. The pain, though, was unbearable and she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to deal with it.

She heard a knock on the common room door and winced as she pulled her aching body up from the couch and made her way over to answer it. When she saw it was Riley, she tried to look a bit more together than she was really feeling.

"Ellie, are you ok? You've missed two days of classes and you haven't been down for meals?" she asked, walking into the common room with her.

"I know, I'm fine, I'm just sick and I feel like crap."

"Should we owl Mum and Dad?"

"NO!"

Riley looked at her like she was crazy after her loud objection.

"I just don't want to bother them if we don't have to. I think it's just a cold anyway, I'll be down for dinner tonight. I'm already feeling better." she said with a smile.

Riley nodded.

"How's Harper? Have you seen her?" Ellie asked, trying to change the subject.

Riley gave a small giggle. "Yes, she is having the time of her life. She was going to Quidditch tryouts this morning when I spoke to her over breakfast."

"Oh no, I can only imagine how that's going and if she doesn't make the team."

They both groaned at the same time as they thought about the way Harper would react in that scenario.

"Well, if that happens, I feel bad for the team captain that made that decision." Ellie laughed along with her sister.

* * *

"Hey," Ember called out as she ran to catch up with her brother down the hall. "Scorpius?" she called again, but she could tell he was deep in thought.

She gave him a light slap on the arm when he finally looked at her.

"Oh, hey."

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow at his comment. "Well, obviously there is," she said.

They continued to walk down to dinner in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, are you inviting Raven to the party?"

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Why not, are you two ok?" she asked.

She was surprised by his answer, she remembered how it took Scorpius almost six months to pluck up the courage to ask her out. They were friends before that, but he always fancied her and she him. Sometimes Ember was a bit jealous of the relationship Scorpius and Raven had and wished her and Noah's was as romantic and sweet as theirs.

"We're just going to stay friends for now is all," he said, not looking at her.

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it." he quickly said.

"But-"

"I really DON'T want to talk about it Ember," he said, his tone dismissive.

"Don't want to talk about what?" Draco asked, standing in the foyer as they met at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, Dad," Ember gave him a quick hug before she glanced at Scorpius with a sympathetic look.

"What's going on?" Draco asked he could tell something was troubling his son.

"Nothing," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Draco nodded. "Well, obviously you're lying-"

They both turned their attention towards the front door when the bell rang.

"I'll let it go for now Son, but if something is bothering you enough to where your mother and I notice then you know we won't ignore it for long," he said with a smirk as he walked over to the door to answer it.

Scorpius just nodded, giving him a small forced smile.

Draco opened the door a look of surprise covered his face. "Blaise? What are you doing here?"

Blaise's face was twisted in anger, rage filled his eyes as he locked them with Draco's. Draco watched his gaze fall from him to the person over his shoulder.

"You." Blaise drawled out through clenched teeth.

Scorpius felt his stomach drop at the sight of the man. "Shit," was all he managed to mumble out before he quickly took off running.

Draco was caught off guard when he felt Blaise push past him and run after his son. Scorpius could hear Blaise's wand whip through the air and he flinched when he heard the post to the banister of the stairs explode beside him as he went running down the hall. He was running so fast he had to skid to a stop to turn the corner; the breeze of Blaise's curse zoomed right behind his head.

Scorpius saw his mother step out in front of him, her wand already shooting out a spell. He made sure to quickly move out of the way as it hit Blaise right in the chest and he flew back onto the floor. Ginny quickly ran over to Scorpius and looked him over to see if he was ok before she saw Draco and Ember running up to them.

"What the hell is going on?" Draco demanded.

Blaise pulled himself up off the ground, his glare deadly as his eyes fell on Scorpius once more. "How dare you treat my daughter with such disrespect." Blaise bellowed, attempting to go after him again.

Draco held him back and Ginny quickly stepped in front of Scorpius.

"What?" Ginny asked. "Scorpius would never-"

"Your son almost got my daughter pregnant and then dumped her as soon as they found out it was negative."

Ginny turned to look at her son, her eyes wide with disbelief, she wasn't even sure if she heard him correctly. Ember had to cover her mouth to stop the shocking gasp that came out and as for Draco, he seemed to have kept his composure at the mention of it. Scorpius couldn't even look up at any of them, he was too ashamed to even speak.

"Blaise-"

"Save it Draco, there is nothing any of you can say that would make it ok for that piece of trash to be near my daughter ever again." he snarled before he pocketed his wand and left the Manor.

They all stood there in silence until Scorpius quickly walked up to his bedroom.

"Ember, go check on Ava," Ginny ordered, nodding for her to leave her and Draco alone.

She left without a word before Draco and Ginny locked eyes and she shook her head at him. "I can't believe this," she said angrily.

She went to go walk up to talk to Scorpius when Draco grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait," he said as she stared at him. "Not now, give him a few."

She slowly nodded before he pulled her into a loose hug.

* * *

She felt his mouth on her neck, sucking and licking his way down to her shoulder where he yanked her bra strap down. She felt his lips on hers again as his hands tried to unclasp her bra and he moved his mouth down to her chest. Ember tried to focus on this moment with Noah, but the only thing she could think about was Blaise's visit earlier. She had no idea Scorpius had even gone that far with Raven and then to hear that he almost got her pregnant made Ember question this moment even more with Noah. She gently grabbed his arms to stop his constant groping and kissing, but he didn't seem to notice her grip on him.

"Noah, can we pause for a moment?" she asked, sitting up as he climbed off of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his hand stroking her thigh.

"Um, do you think we could just do something else instead?"

He looked at her and gave a small laugh. "Very funny," he said before the force of his kiss pushed her back down on his bed, his hand groping one of her breasts and the other one making its way down to her waistband.

"I'm serious." she breathed out in between his hard, quick kisses.

"Ember, you're over thinking this, just relax and let me show you a good time," he said with a seductive smile before he kissed the spot beside her navel and trailed kisses down to where he pulled back the band of her pants.

She closed her eyes as she let his words sink in and felt her body wanting to give in to the way each one of his kisses made her feel. She felt him start to tug at her pants and her eyes snapped back open and she quickly sat back up.

"Wait."

"Fuck Ember, what's the problem now?" he asked as he became highly annoyed by her constant interruptions.

"I just don't think I'm ready, I'm sorry."

"You're becoming a real fuckin tease. I thought you were ok with this?"

"I thought I was, I mean, isn't this your first time too? Don't you want to be sure?"

"Yes, and I am sure because it's you."

Ember couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face at his words.

"That's really sweet Noah, but...I'm just not ready yet."

He rolled his eyes at her and shook his head before he started to unbutton his pants. "Well, can you at least blow me or something?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, taken aback by his sudden request.

"Ember, you're driving me crazy, I want something more out of this relationship." he snapped.

"Well, there's more to a relationship than sex."

"Yes, but there is at least some sex or at least anything more intimate than we are doing now," he argued before he walked over to his door and held it open. "Why don't you just get the hell out of here and let me know when you're ready to take the next step."

She just stared at him, she was filled with anger, but she was also hurt by the way he was treating her. She hated how Noah had changed over the past year, he was nothing but short with her lately. She didn't say a word as she slipped her shirt back on and grabbed her shoes as she went to leave his room.

"Oh, and Ember," He grabbed her arm to stop her before she walked out and she turned to look at him. He moved his face close to hers. "When you do decide that you're ready...be certain that you are because it will be hard for me to stop next time," he said softly before he placed a small kiss on her cheek.

She glared at him before she ripped her arm from his grasp and stormed out of his bedroom.

* * *

Scorpius was surprised when his parents hadn't come up to his room yet about what happened earlier. He was thankful for it as he didn't think he could even look them in the face after what he did. He never meant for things between him and Raven to end up like this, he didn't want to hurt her in any way. Her father had every right to respond the way he did and Scorpius thought he should have just let the man hex him into oblivion for his actions.

He was pulled from his thoughts when there was a knock at his door and he couldn't bring himself to answer it. After another knock, the door was opened and he knew it was his parents. Draco and Ginny took a seat on either side of him as he sat there staring at the floor. He could only imagine the disappointment they had in him.

"Scorpius-"

"I didn't dump her, I only wanted us to take a breather after what happened, that's all. I had every intention of being friends in the meantime, but..." he just shook his head as Ginny and Draco locked eyes for a quick moment.

"I'm sorry guys, I don't know what to say."

"Didn't you guys take precautions beforehand?" Ginny asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but there was a time or two where we didn't."

Ginny just shook her head and went to speak when Draco cut her off.

"What would you have done if she was pregnant?" he asked, his tone composed.

Draco could see the fear of what could've been in his son's eyes as he managed to finally meet his gaze. A part of him wanted to yell and scream at him and ask him what he was thinking, but the other part had to remind himself that he was in the same position at his age. The only difference was that he and Ginny weren't as lucky as he and Raven were. Of course, in the end, he had Ember and Scorpius and wouldn't want it any other way, but he knew how his son must be feeling.

"I don't know what I would've done, I was just thinking about how disappointed you guys would be. I know you expect a lot more from and to make better decisions and then this happened."

"Baby, everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions. Your father and I made so many bad ones at your age and to this day, but the way you deal with those poor choices and mistakes when the consequences kick in is what really counts in the end." Ginny said with a small smile.

"It's just the thought of being with Raven again in...that way...scared me because of what almost happened. I just thought we should take a step back and focus on getting our lives together for now, especially mine." Scorpius explained.

"And that sounds very reasonable, but Raven doesn't seem like she would have expected you to do anything with her if you weren't ready to do so again."

"Should I go talk to her?"

"Uh, Son, I think you'll want to wait a few days to attempt that one," Draco said, slapping him on the back. "Zabini was pretty pissed."

Ginny got up and ran her fingers through Scorpius' hair before she cupped his face with one hand. "I love you, please know you can always talk to me and Dad about anything...even sex if you must." she laughed at the last part.

He gave her a small smirk.

She went to wait for Draco at the door when he nodded for her to go on without him. He got up and squatted down in front of his son and looked up at him.

"Listen to me Scorpius, there is NOTHING you could ever do that would make your mother and I stop loving you. We are so proud of you and the man you've become, it doesn't matter that you don't know what you want to do yet career-wise, that stuff will come later. What matters is the kind of person you are and I know for a fact, because you are your mother's son...that your heart is as big as hers. When I found out your mother was pregnant..." he trailed off as he thought back to the memory as he shook his head. "I didn't take it well, plus before that our relationship was always rocky. I was too scared to be with her, to love her...I didn't think I deserved those things and then when I found out I was going to be a father..." he laughed at the crazy situation he found himself in back then. "I freaked out, but your mother made everything ok in the end...like always. The point is, I can see how crazy you are about that girl and I don't want your fear to get in the way of that. You don't have to have sex to be in a relationship Scorpius. Give it a few days, then make things right with Raven IF she doesn't come to you first."

"Yeah, that won't happen."

"We'll see," he said before he pulled his son into a hug.

* * *

Ellie had finished packing her bag to go home for the weekend for Scorpius and Ember's birthday party. She was looking forward to having some fun because the past week had been nothing but a nightmare for her. She pulled on a sweatshirt as a shiver ran through her body and walked over to the mirror to brush her hair. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw her reflection. She threw the brush down and got closer to the mirror and rubbed her eyes roughly. After blinking a few times she realized both of her eyes were a milky white color. Her lips trembled with fear and she buried her face on her hands to try and compose herself.

"It's ok... it's fine, you're fine, it's all in your head... I'm in control." she whispered to herself through her shaky breaths.

She grabbed her wand and performed a simple spell to conceal her eyes and replace the color with one that resembled hers the most.

"There, back to normal...sort of," she mumbled out. "Now about this," she said to herself as she pulled up her sleeves to expose her black veins.

She pulled down the collar of her sweatshirt to reveal the dark blue and purple ones running up the side of her neck and into her face. She waved her wand once more to conceal them the best she could and when she looked halfway presentable, she just shrugged and decided she would just play the sick card on her parents. Taking one last glance over herself, she grabbed her bag and headed down to the train station.

* * *

The train was barely at a full stop when Harper jumped off and ran to her parents telling them about how she made the Quidditch team. She almost knocked Draco over with how hard she ran into him with her arms open. Ginny let out a soft giggle before she pulled Riley into a hug as Harper started going on and on about how much she loved school.

"You don't know how hard it was to not throw her off the train," Riley growled as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you for not doing that," Ginny laughed, hugging her one more time. Her eyes fell on Ellie, who was walking over and Ginny immediately could tell something was off. "Ellie, what's wrong? Are you sick?" she asked, feeling her head and looking her over with concern all over her face.

"I'm ok, Mum, honestly, I'm just still getting over something I must have caught at school. I already went to see Madame Pomfrey and she gave me everything I need." she lied, as she tried to calm her mum down before she became overly concerned.

Ginny didn't say anything, she just looked her daughter over again before Ellie flashed her a bright smile.

"Hey kiddo, you look like shit," Draco said, walking over and pulling Ellie into a hug. "You sure you ok?"

"Yes, Dad, I promise. I just want to get home and rest up before the party this weekend," she said with another smile.

After Ginny looked her over one last time and was finally satisfied with her daughter's answer, she took her bag from her and put an arm around her shoulders and started walking. Ellie let out a relieved sigh when her parents bought her story.

"You colored your hair," Ginny stated, running her fingers through Ellie's strands. "It's cute," she said with a smile.

Ellie just smiled back before her mum turned her attention to Ava, who was fussing and she quickly grabbed a chunk of her hair and looked at it. She felt her stomach drop when she saw her strawberry blonde hair was now a darker flaming red with streaks of platinum blonde throughout it. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and started to follow her parents.

* * *

"So I guess, I'll see you this weekend," Aurora said.

"Definitely," James said with a smile.

They both stood there in silence for a few moments, James staring at her the whole time before Aurora started to laugh. "Can I have my bag now?" she asked.

Realizing he still had been carrying her bag for her he quickly slid it off his shoulder and handed it to her, his eyes firmly on hers again.

She smirked at him until her eyes traveled over his shoulder. "Hi, Harry...Luna," she said with a wave before she looked at James once more. "See ya, James."

"See ya," he said, watching her walk up to her parents until Draco saw him staring and sneered at him before putting his arm around his daughter.

"You're making a great impression on Draco," Harry whispered over his son's shoulder.

James just laughed before he turned to his parents. "Yep, I sure am."

"And on Aurora, it seems," Luna piped in.

"I don't know what you're talking about," James said with a small smile before he threw his bag over his shoulder.

"Sure you don't," Harry smirked, lightly slapping him on the back before Luna pulled her son into a hug.

* * *

Ember knocked on her brother's door and waited for an answer, although she didn't really expect one. She decided to skip the second knock and opened the door to see him sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Dinner will be ready soon." she softly said, walking over to him.

He didn't say anything, she hated seeing him like this, she had never seen Scorpius so down before. He was a lot like their father when it came to keeping their composure and not showing when something upset them that might make them seem vulnerable. She was surprised to even see how upset her father was over the conversation they had the other night about his own father. What bothered her most though, was that she was always able to somewhat feel and pick up on all of his emotions and right now...she could feel how defeated he felt.

"So, listen, I was in that small cafe the other day and the waiter told me they were looking for some help. I thought maybe you might be interested; it's not much right now, but it's something until you find a better job." she shrugged.

Sure, she thought Jacob was cute and wanted to work at the cafe because of mostly that reason, but she knew Scorpius needed something positive right now to look forward to.

He gave her a small smile. "Thanks, I'll check it out."

She went to leave when she turned back around and hugged him tightly, but just for a moment before she broke away. She kept thinking about last night with Noah and how she almost did something she wasn't ready for.

"Love you, bro," she said, lightly pushing his shoulder before she left his bedroom.

* * *

She heard distant knocking through the ringing in her ears as she desperately tried to open her eyes. She finally managed to crack them a bit and was met with nothing but a blurry blob in front of her.

"ELLIE! MUM SAID TO GET UP FOR BREAKFAST!" Riley yelled through her bedroom door.

Suddenly the ringing stopped and she was pulled back to reality as her vision became focused and she found herself on the bathroom floor. She lifted her face off the cold, hard tile floor and gave a soft moan of pain as she realized how stiff her body was. She heard Riley open her bedroom door and start walking towards the bathroom when she pulled her body as quick as she could across the ground and reached forward with her fingertips to swing the door shut.

"Ellie, Mum said you need to come down for breakfast because you need to eat something since you skipped dinner last night."

Ellie cleared her throat. "Ok, I'll be down in a minute." she managed to choke out, straining to keep her voice from cracking.

When she heard Riley walk away, she let out a relieved sigh and turned over on her back and lay there for a few moments longer. She could barely remember what happened last night; she just remembered the pain in her head. She was finally starting to accept the fact that she would have to tell her parents soon because she wasn't sure how much more of the pain she could take. She decided after Ember and Scorpius' birthday party she would tell them, but for now, she grabbed her wand off her nightstand and started putting what became her routine concealment charms on herself.

* * *

"Scorpius?"

He turned at the sound of his name and shook the young man's hand.

"Ember said you were looking for any kind of work, she did mention it doesn't pay much right?" Jacob asked.

"Anything is better than sitting at home all day," he mumbled.

"Quite true, do you know why Ember decided not to take the job instead?" Jacob asked him.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at his question. "You offered her the same position?"

"Yes, she seemed really interested, so I was just curious as to why she changed her mind suddenly."

Scorpius couldn't help but smirk to himself at his sister's kind gesture. "She must have realized how pathetic my life is." he drawled, following Jacob into the back of the cafe.

He gave a small chuckle. "It can't be that bad, you're a Malfoy, aren't you? Well, it's obvious, you're a spitting image of your father."

Scorpius wasn't sure how he should take that comment, instead, he decided to brush it off. "So you fancy my sister?" he asked suddenly, making Jacob stop what he was doing and look at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"My sister, you fancy her, do you not? That is why you offered her the job here isn't it?"

Jacob just shook his head as he gave a nervous laugh. "I think you've mistaken."

"Hmm," was all Scorpius said, placing his hands in his pocket and looking at the young man.

Scorpius could tell he was making him nervous by the question. Perhaps the Malfoy name scared him a bit he thought, especially when he was being questioned about having eyes for the daughter of Draco Malfoy.

"I simply offered your sister a job because we needed the help," he said, stumbling for words.

Scorpius looked around the quiet cafe and saw only two people in it. "I can tell, business is booming." he drawled, looking at Jacob once more.

They were both quiet for a moment, Jacob was obviously unsure of what to say next.

"Listen...Jacob, why don't you come to our party tomorrow evening, I'm sure Ember would be more than happy to see you again." Scorpius suggested.

The only reason he invited him in the first place was to hopefully get Ember's attention off of Noah and on someone else.

"A party? But we've only just met, I mean I've seen her here once in a while, but-"

"So what, we always have people we barely know at our parties," he said. "So six tomorrow and since it's pretty dead here right now, how about I start on Monday?" Scorpius suggested as he started heading towards the door.

Jacob was too caught off guard by the invitation to a party at Malfoy Manor to even take in what Scorpius said and just ended up nodding in agreement. Scorpius pushed open the front door with a smug smirk on his face before he went to apparate back home when he stopped suddenly.

He was standing face to face with Raven, they both were silent for a few moments before Scorpius' eyes traveled across the way to where Blaise was walking up to them. He quickly turned to leave when Raven's voice stopped him.

"Scorpius, wait," she said.

He turned back to her, Blaise already by her side.

"Keep walking kid," he snarled, his hand gripped firmly around his wand.

"Dad, please?" Raven said, looking at him.

"I don't want you near him Raven, hasn't he put you through enough?" he spat, his anger rising.

"Dad, stop it, go wait for me at the diner, I'll meet you there in a minute," she said, her eyes pleading with her father to trust her.

Blaise's face softened at the look his daughter gave him before he walked on without her.

Raven walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat before she patted the spot next to her for Scorpius to sit. After a moment of hesitation, he finally walked over and sat beside her.

"Scorpius, I'm so sorry that my father went to your home like that. I know you didn't want me to tell anyone, but my dad and I are very close, especially since my mother left." she looked down at her fidgeting hands. "I didn't have anyone else to talk to about it."

He let out a long sigh before he looked at her. Her green eyes and wavy hair made him want to grab her and snog her senseless.

"Raven, you don't need to apologize for telling your dad, you were braver than I was. I never meant for you to feel disrespected in any way, I was just doing what I thought would be best for us...for me. Maybe that was selfish?" he said, unsure of what to think.

"No, I think it was selfish of me for not understanding more. I just really like you Scorpius and I don't want to end things with you," she said with a small smile.

"I really don't either, but I think it's impossible now to see each other anymore. I think if I breathe in your direction your dad will hex me into oblivion."

She gave a small giggle at his dramatic theory. "I will handle my father, but for now...can we still hang out as friends?"

"Friends? Well, I suppose for as long as that works," he smirked.

They both leaned in for a kiss, but Scorpius just hugged her instead.

"So is there still any chance I can come to your party tomorrow?"

"Of course, you should bring your dad, I'm sure he'd love to come," Scorpius suggested in amusement.

She laughed once more at his comment before she ignored his ban on kissing and pulled his lips to hers...so much for just friends.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Ember asked her brother as he walked up and took a seat in front of her desk.

"Actually, it went better than I thought," he said, a genuine smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" she laughed.

"I ran into Raven as I was leaving the cafe."

"Oh, I'm guessing you guys worked things out then?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly, but we did talk...and kiss," he said with a smirk.

Ember just shook her head. "Blaise won't be too thrilled with that."

"Yeah, I know," he said before he saw Noah walking up to them in the distance. "Ugh, not this guy." he groaned out.

Ember turned to see who he was looking at and then shot him a glare. "Stop it, Scorpius," she warned him through clenched teeth.

"Jacob seems like a nice bloke, he fancies you too so-"

"He said that?" she asked, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

"Well, not outright but he didn't have to."

"Hello, Scorpius...Ember," said Noah, leaning forward and kissing her.

"I should be going," Scorpius said, quickly getting up. "Nice seeing you Jacob, oops, I mean Noah, I just got done talking to Ember's new friend Jacob at the coffee shop," he explained before he saw the daggers Ember shot at him.

He just turned with yet another smug smirk on his face and left the Ministry.

"Who's Jacob?" Noah asked.

"It's nobody, just someone Scorpius is teasing me about. Anyway, I didn't expect to see you today...you know with how much of a tease I've been lately," she said sarcastically, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair.

He walked around to her side of the desk and sat on it. "I'm sorry about how I acted the other night. I should be more understanding and I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just hate that we've together for a couple of months now and you still aren't comfortable with taking that next step with me. Do I make you feel that unsure?" he asked, his feelings seemed to be genuinely hurt.

She felt bad all of a sudden and she hated that she did. She wanted to just tell him to leave her alone because she was still angry at him, but there was just something about him that made it hard to stay mad.

"It's just me Noah, not you. I just want to be sure...that's all."

He leaned over her chair and looked down at her. "I'd love to give you a very special birthday gift of my own tomorrow night," he said before he pressed his lips against hers.

"ADWELL!"

Noah and Ember both jumped at the sound of Draco's voice.

Ember quickly pushed Noah back and wiped any smeared lipstick from her face.

"Mr. Malfoy, good to see you," Noah said, his confidence made Draco want to punch him out.

"I wish I could say the same, the sight of you hovering over my daughter with your tongue down her throat makes me want to...hurt you, quite badly I might add," he said, his voice calm but his glare deadly.

Noah's breath caught in his throat at the comment. "I'll see you tomorrow Ember," he quickly said before he hurried down the hall.

Draco's eyes fell on Ember as she went back to sorting and filing hoping that her father would just walk away.

"How do you manage to get any work done with so many visitors?"

She just rolled her eyes at his comment. "I don't so maybe you should leave," she snapped.

He smirked at her quick wit before he took a seat and reach forward to grab one of the files from her desk. He gave a small chuckle when he read one of them, "Some of these are quite humorous." he said, tossing it back down.

She laughed at the one he had picked up about the misuse of magic by a young man who tried to turn his lamp into a woman but it backfired. She laughed out loud when she thought back to the part she read about his statement on growing breasts and experiencing menstrual cramps.

"Yes, indeed they are." she giggled. "Some of them are... quite concerning though," she said, looking at her father.

He nodded.

"Are there files on you and Mum?" she asked.

"I've never seen them if there are. This department didn't monitor things like they do now, at that time they were just monitoring me and your mother specifically."

"Dad, have you ever thought if there was a way to have your powers taken away...for good...would you do it?"

Draco looked at her, his brow furrowed slightly. "Would you?"

She didn't answer right away; she seemed to be contemplating a few different things in her head. She finally looked up at him, "No." she said firmly.

He smiled at her answer. "Good, me either."

 **Author's note: So what did you think? The story will pick up a bit in the next chapter. Please review, it means a lot!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry it took a little longer to upload this chapter. A lot of stuff happening in this one, some little things from the last story in there. Hopefully you all remember.**

 **If you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. I post chapter previews and updates on there on my current fics and anything else you guys might want to discuss.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter =D**

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

Scorpius pulled the pillow out from under his head and covered his face with it to drown out Harper's yelling as she entered his bedroom and threw open the curtains.

"GET OUT!" he muffled out loudly through the pillow.

"Aww, now, now my son, that's no way to greet your little sister in the morning. She's only trying to give you a proper birthday wake up." Draco said with amusement as he leaned against the door frame.

"Dad, it's my birthday, can't I sleep until whenever I please?" he snapped, peeking out from under the pillow.

"No, now get up."

"Yeah, get up, you bum," Harper said, taking a throw pillow from the armchair and tossing it at him.

The pillow landed right between his legs and he jolted up and released a growl of pain as he grabbed his crotch. "WHAT THE FUCK?" he yelled as he leaned over the bed in pain.

Draco and Harper were cracking up and laughed even louder when Scorpius fell off the bed.

"Well, he's up now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON! BREAKFAST IN TEN!" Draco called over his shoulder, still laughing at his son's expense.

* * *

Ellie made her way downstairs for breakfast, her concealment charms in place. She looked at her hair and sighed when she saw a few black strands had formed throughout it. She quietly made her way to the table and tried to slip in unnoticed as the usual chaotic conversation took place in the dining room.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Ginny called down to her as she fought with Ava to wipe her face clean.

She tried to respond, but the shooting pain in her head made her hands latch onto her seat tightly to stop herself from screaming. She felt her cheeks flush as a wave of heat took over her body. She let out a shaky breath as she desperately begged her body to hold it together until tomorrow.

"You ok?" she heard Scorpius whisper to her from the chair beside her.

She turned to look at him, she could hear him, but it was as if her mind refused to take in what he was asking.

"Ellie?"

She went to get up to excuse herself before the pain got any worse. Before she could take a step, she saw the room start to spin and the last thing she remembered was falling to the floor.

* * *

When Ellie opened her eyes again, she saw she was in her bed and there was someone sitting beside her. Her body was on fire but she was grateful that the pain seemed to subside a bit.

"Your fever is pretty high, you seem to be getting worse." she heard her mother say.

She looked at her mum's face; she looked like she might have been crying.

"You scared us," Ginny softly said, as she cupped the side of Ellie's flushed cheek.

"I'm sorry, Mum; I just haven't been resting as I should."

"Maybe we should call off the party-"

"NO! Mum, please don't. Everyone is looking so forward to it, even me. I will rest for the day and most of the evening and just pop in for a little bit later. After that, I'll have plenty of time to get better. I've been sick before you know." she said, trying to convince her mother that she was perfectly fine.

"Yes, but you've never passed out before from a fever," she said with a smirk as she placed a kiss on her forehead. "I can't believe how you're burning up." she gave her a sympathetic look.

Ellie reached forward and took the potion off the nightstand. "Fever reducer?" she asked her mum.

Ginny nodded before Ellie drank it and then lay back on her pillow. Soon all her sisters and brother came into her bedroom, Harper jumping on the bed beside her.

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked, handing her a glass of water.

She nodded. "Better."

She took a sip of the water and noticed her concealment charms were starting to fail as she looked at the veins in her forearm turning darker.

"I'm really tired, so I think I'm just going to rest," she quickly said as she put the glass down and pulled the covers up over her.

"Glad you're ok, I tried to catch you, but I was knee deep in waffles before I noticed you falling," Scorpius smirked.

She gave a small laugh before they all cleared out of the room and she was left with just her parents looking at her.

"Ellie, are you sure you're alright?" Draco asked her.

"I promise, I am, I don't want you guys to read too much into this, people get sick. I'm fine; I'll be back to normal before you know it."

"Well, either way, you're going straight to the doctor in the morning," Ginny ordered before she gave her a quick hug then she headed out of the bedroom. Draco just looked down at her and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before he gave her a small smile.

"Get some rest, we'll check on you in a little bit," he said before he left her bedroom.

Ellie waited to make sure everyone was gone from the front of her door before she grabbed her wand and put her concealment charms back on. She was worried at how fast they failed her and made sure to put up a little more of an advanced one on herself. She could feel the pressure in her head starting to come back and decided to try and fit in whatever sleep she could manage before the pain became too unbearable once more.

* * *

"Dad, please don't push yourself tonight, if you need to lie down there is plenty of rooms to go rest in," Ginny told her father as she led the way to the ballroom.

"Don't worry about me Ginbug, I came to party it up with these two," he said, pointing to Ember and Scorpius as they walked up to him and gave their grandparents a hug hello.

The music grew louder as they approached the room and Arthur went right to the dance floor with his cane in hand to dance with Harper and Riley. Ginny just shook her head in amusement before she looked at her mum.

"He's really trying to ignore the fact that he is a very sick man," Molly said as she watched her husband laughing with the girls. Ginny gave her a hug before she turned to the twins.

"Well, get in there guys, go crazy," she laughed, waving her hands at them to go ahead. "AND PACE YOUR DRINKING!" she yelled after them as they made their way into the blaring music.

"Oh just let them have some fun," Molly said, waving her hand. "Don't you remember Ron and Hermione's wedding night? The mess I had the morning after, now you can experience it," she said with a small laugh.

"Oh, I remember." Ginny giggled.

"Remember what?" Draco asked, walking up to them.

"Oh, you know, the night you gave me the nickname Gincy," she teased him.

"I think I like Gincy better than Ginny." he laughed as she swung her hand at him to slap him.

The doorbell rang and Draco walked over to answer it while Ginny waited for him.

"Good Evening Mr. Malfoy," Raven said with a small smile. She felt a bit awkward because she knew they were aware of her situation with Scorpius, plus the fact that her father tried to hex him into oblivion.

"Raven, good to see you again, come on in, everyone's in the ballroom," he said, gesturing down the hall where Ginny waved hello to her.

Draco went to close the door when Blaise came walking up after Raven.

"Well, this is surprising, I don't recall inviting you," Draco said with a smirk.

"My daughter being here is my invite. Your son invited me."

Draco looked at Ginny, who approached the front door when she saw Blaise walk up.

"And you gladly accepted?" Ginny said with a small laugh.

"No, he was kidding, so I came anyway to keep an eye on my daughter," he said. "Unless you'd like to throw another spell at me?" he sarcastically suggested to Ginny.

She folded her arms and gave him a hard stare. "If you're waiting for an apology that's not going to happen. You stormed into my house trying to hurt my son, you deserved it. However, on behalf of our son we are sorry that things went the way they did between them. I understand that Scorpius has apologized to Raven and they've decided to stay friends. So if you have an issue with that then you can take your arse home." she said calmly but her tone firm.

Blaise just looked at her, a small smirk forming on his lips. He looked at Ginny and then at Draco; seeing the two of them together as a married couple was something he never thought he'd see. He could see himself with Ginny before he would ever see Draco with her.

"I suppose we will see how things go. Believe me, I am only here for my daughter."

Ginny and Draco moved aside to let him pass and watched as he made his way into the ballroom after Raven. Ginny went to walk away when Draco grabbed her back to him and turned her to face him.

"You're so fuckin hot when you put your foot down," he said, pulling her into a long passionate kiss.

She smiled against his lips before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I bet you think Gincy is even hotter."

They both laughed before she met his lips once more.

* * *

"Ember?"

She turned around and was surprised to see Jacob standing there. "Jacob, what are you doing here?" she asked, a bright smile spreading across her face.

"Your brother invited me, is that alright because I can leave-"

"No, no, it's quite alright, I'm glad you came," she said, staring at him.

"You are?" he asked.

"Uh, I just meant, it's only right, you did offer him a job after all." she quickly explained.

"Well, I offered you a job and then you offered it to him. It was a nice gesture, you both must be close."

"Well, we're twins, so I constantly feel this need to protect him and vice versa...damn prat," she smirked, looking at her brother from across the room.

Jake laughed at her comment then watched her shake her head in annoyance at Noah from across the room, who was laughing and talking to some girl that worked at the Ministry. She waved to his father who spotted her across the room and she gave a forced smile.

"That's your boyfriend, yes?" Jake asked her.

"Yep, that's him."

"Interesting," he mumbled.

"What does that mean?"

He just looked at her and shook his head with a small smile. "Nothing, I was just curious. So why are so many people from the Ministry at your party?" Jake asked, trying to change the subject.

"Honestly, half of them weren't even invited, a lot of times people just assume they are invited because the name "Malfoy" is involved. Some of them are just old business partners of my grandparents...well whichever ones my father still deals with. Then others were invited just to show face, the proper thing to do and all. Kingsley, of course, is always invited and as the Minister of Magic a lot of others just end up coming along I suppose."

"It's surprising that anyone that Lucius Malfoy dealt with is still willing to conduct business with your dad."

"Well, my father would never associate with anyone that followed my grandfather during those days."

Jacob looked at her, she seemed to be bothered by where the conversation was heading.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's not you, its just...sometimes it's hard to think I'm related to someone who had done such terrible things." she seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a quick moment before she smiled at him. "Hopefully your grandfather was a better man than mine." she lightly joked.

He gave a small laugh. "Actually, I can kind of relate to how you feel. I never met my father or my paternal grandparents, I just know what my mother has told me. He wasn't a very good man either, not to her anyway." he said, his face sinking a bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

He looked at her again and gave a bright smile. "It's your birthday, let's shift this conversation to something more positive. How about some dancing?" he suggested.

She nodded happily before she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

* * *

"Just look at him, putting his hands all over my daughter. I'm going over there." Draco said, starting to get up when Ginny pushed him back down through her laughter.

"Stop it, sit down you psycho."

"Ginny, how could you be ok with this?" he looked at her like she had three heads before he glared at Harry. "Go over there and stop him," he ordered.

"From doing what?" Harry laughed.

"He is groping my daughter," he emphasized each word.

"You mean they're dancing?" he corrected him.

"Whatever you want to call it." he snapped before he looked across the room at James and Aurora once more. "I can't even look at this anymore." before he turned and grabbed his drink from the table and threw it back.

"And here I thought you would be reacting the way he is." Ginny laughed as she turned to Blaise.

"Honestly, watching his reaction makes me want to back off a bit on the two of them," he said as he glanced across the dance floor at Scorpius and Raven.

"She seems like a very sweet girl, I'm sorry to hear about your divorce." Ginny gave him a sad smile.

He waved his hand. "Nah, it was for the best, we had problems for a while...the problem being her not keeping her legs closed."

Ginny bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing at the way he worded his wife's infidelity, but when she saw him start to smirk they both let out a small laugh.

"Honestly, Raven was quite unexpected and she was never ready to be a proper mother. When we married, I told myself she would fall into it, as parents naturally do, but it never happened. So many years I kept holding on though for Raven's sake, but in the end...here we are." he said.

Ginny looked at Draco again, who was glaring across the room at James and Aurora still before she turned back to Blaise. "Having Scorpius and Ember was one of the best things that ever happened to us. I couldn't imagine not being a mother to my own children."

He locked eyes with her. "I feel the same way about being a father."

* * *

"Ellie, you're alive." Harry joked, sitting down at a table in the corner with her. "Why are you sitting all by yourself?"

"Hey Harry, just don't feel much like socializing right now." she shrugged. "Everyone seems to be having fun though, has Dad gone mental yet over that?" she nodded towards James and Aurora dancing together.

Harry looked at her with a giant grin. "Let's just say I left the table in case Draco decided to take it out on me."

They both laughed.

Ellie wanted so badly to just scream at the top of lungs at the pain in her body. She decided to just come down to the party hoping that it would take her mind off of the pain and the feeling of her head wanting to split in half.

"Geez, it's cold over here," Harry said, giving a shiver as he rubbed his hands together.

Ellie's breath caught in her throat when she noticed her concealment charms completely fail her. She went to make a run out of the room before Harry would notice, but when she looked up, he was staring right at her, his eyes wide.

"Ellie, your face...your eyes...what's happening?" he asked her as he looked at her in disbelief.

Her eyes were this bright white, her pupils gone. The veins up and down her arms and all the way up to neck and face were black. It looked like some kind of poison spreading throughout her body.

He went to go get Draco and Ginny when she quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. "Harry, wait." she pleaded with him. "Please don't say anything...not yet."

"Ellie, how long has this been going on?"

"Since I started school this year, it's been getting worse."

He just stared at her, he wasn't sure what to say. "Your nose...it's bleeding."

She quickly brought her hand up to her face and felt the warm liquid covering her fingers. Harry noticed the table before him starting to freeze over and the chandelier above start to lightly shake.

Ellie went to run from the room, but she fell to her knees when the pain took over her body.

"Ellie!" Harry ran to her side, the music blaring around them.

He went to help her up, but as soon as he touched her, his hands got burned and he gave out a small hiss. He watched the floor around them start to cover in ice and then the walls.

"I'll be right back," he reassured her before he ran over to Ginny and Draco.

He quickly ran over to them without trying to cause a scene, he knew they wouldn't want news of what was happening with Ellie to come out like this.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Ginny asked with a smile as she seemed amused by his sudden attitude change.

"Ginny, Draco you guys need to come with me...it's Ellie."

Ginny's smile fell and she jumped to her feet so quickly she almost knocked Harry over. Draco and Ginny both stopped walking when everyone in the room grew quiet as the entire room seemed to cover with ice.

Ginny looked at Draco.

"It's not me," he said before he looked across the way at Scorpius who locked eyes with him.

Scorpius shook his head to indicate it wasn't him either before Draco turned back to Ginny and they quickly ran over to Ellie. Ginny froze in place for a moment at the sight of her, the feel of Draco pushing past her made her legs start to move again.

"Hey, Ellie, look at me," Draco grabbed her face, but he pulled his hands back when her skin started burning him.

Ginny ran to her side and cupped her face in her hands. "Baby, listen to me, calm down, you have to fight it."

Ellie just shook her head, her fingernails digging into her scalp as the pain ripped through her.

"I can't fight it, not anymore. I'm sorry, I was going to tell you after the party, but it hurts too much to hold it in." she cried.

The room what rattling at this point, the windows shook and then started busting, making everyone break out into a panic.

"Ellie?" Ginny called to her.

She was shoved back hard by her before she scrambled away to the corner of the room and let out a painful scream.

Large shards of ice were shooting up from the floor while the rumbling picked up, making one of the chandeliers in the room fall to the floor and bust into pieces. People went to run out of the room, but a wall of ice blocked them from leaving.

"What's happening to her?" Kingsley asked, running over.

"Everything is fine, she's just having trouble controlling her powers." Ginny quickly said.

"Everything is fine? Are you kidding me? People are hurt, people are in a panic." Kingsley said, pulling out his wand.

"What are you doing?" Draco hissed, stepping in front of him.

"She needs to be controlled before she kills someone," Kingsley said. "Need I remind the two of you what happened all those years ago when you lost control?"

Ginny's eyes landed on her children who were standing right behind Kingsley. Her heart sank when she saw they were all quite shaken up over what was happening. Ginny took her own wand out and turned to Ellie. She shot a disabling charm at her, one that Lucius used on them so long ago that temporarily made them unable to use their powers. She was surprised when it did nothing to her at all, if anything, it made her emit ever more of her powers.

What was making it more unbearable to watch was the pain she watched her daughter endure. The screaming that filled her ears made her just want to hold her child, but Ellie wouldn't allow anyone near her.

A sudden wave of icy shards glided across the room as everyone ran for cover behind tables, walls and anything else they could find. People tried to put up protective shields, but they weren't holding up against the power that Ellie released.

Ginny's eyes fell on Jack Adwell a few feet away, his eyes firmly on Ellie as she marched over to him. "What's wrong with her? Why is she in so much pain?" she desperately asked, searching for some kind of answer.

"I know nothing about what she's been experiencing, I don't know-"

"WELL DO YOUR BEST!" she screamed.

"I don't know Mrs. Malfoy, if I had to guess, it looks like her body can't handle the amount of power that she possesses."

Ginny looked at Draco before they looked at their daughter, who had finally stopped screaming. They both ran to her side, her breathing heavy as she slumped to the ground.

"ELLIE!" Ginny cried, grabbing her into a hug.

"Mum...it...hurts so much." Ellie choked out, her voice hoarse.

She closed her eyes tightly as she desperately tried to keep her powers in, but when she opened her eyes again Draco's heart sank. Her white eyes turned to black, those black haunting eyes that Ginny would have when she lost control. He grabbed Ginny's arm and backed up from her as Ellie stood back up. Flames whipped off of her, causing the room to break out in more chaos than he already had. Draco could tell at any minute this whole room would be filled with a blazing inferno.

He and Ginny went to take cover when he felt Ginny stop and look at Ellie.

"PROTECT THE KIDS!" she yelled at him before she ran towards Ellie.

"GINNY! NO!"

He went to run after her but when he saw the blast of fire coming right at him, he quickly ran over to where the kids were and put up a shield of ice. His eyes searched the room for the twins who weren't around, but before he could finish searching he found himself fighting against the fiery flames as they tried to melt through.

Scorpius grabbed Ember, who seemed to have frozen in place at the sight of their sister. He jumped in front of her, Raven and Blaise and braced himself for the impact of the fiery wall that came right at them. All he could hear was screaming and the roaring flames filling the room as he fell to his knees against the intensity of the heat fighting its way through.

Ginny walked up to Ellie, the flames hitting her while her body absorbed them. It looked like Ellie was about to explode and before she could kill every person in that room, Ginny reached forward and grabbed her into a tight hug. She felt the force of power release from Ellie against her body, her powers forming a barrier around them that absorbed all the flames that Ellie released. After a few moments, she felt Ellie fall limp in her arms.

Scorpius cracked his eyes open a bit, he thought for a second he might be dead, but when he saw Raven and Blaise staring at him he knew he was very much alive. He turned to see the barrier of ice he had formed in front of them to stop the flames, but then his stomach was in knots. He never told Raven about his powers and here they were on full display for everyone to see.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his mother screaming at Ellie to wake up.

Draco ran to her side and scooped her up in his arms. "We should take her to St. Mungo's," he said to Ginny, who nodded through her tears.

She looked at her parents who were already nodding for them to go on while they dealt with the aftermath.

Harry looked around the room, people were hurt, he couldn't tell if anyone was dead. Most everyone left as soon as they were able to and the room erupted into conversation. He just looked at Luna and little Bella to make sure they were ok and then walked over to James and the others.

"Is everyone ok?"

They all nodded.

"I need to talk to Kingsley...Hermione?" he called for her to follow him and she gave her two kids a quick hug before she ran to catch up with him.

Scorpius noticed Riley was crying, she was shaken up over the whole scene. "Hey, come here." he softly said as he pulled her into a hug.

"Is that going to happen to me too?" she asked through her tears.

He felt her body trembling in his arms. He didn't answer at first, he wasn't even sure of what he saw, but it was hard to watch.

"No, that won't happen to you. Mum and Dad are going to get Ellie some help, she will be fine," he reassured her.

He looked over at Harper, who was very quiet. She never really cried, but he could tell by her silence, she was upset. He nodded for her to come over to him and she slowly made her way over and hugged him along with Riley.

"Ember are you ok?" Jacob asked.

She just nodded as Noah came walking up to her and grabbed her into a hug. "Ember are you alright?" he asked.

She just looked at him for a moment before she nodded again. She gave a quick glance at Jake as Noah wrapped his arm around her and led her away from him.

* * *

Scorpius walked over to Blaise and Raven, he saw she had a small scrape on her face and he went to reach up to look at it when she quickly brought her hand up first. He paused and dropped his arm instead, he could tell she was uncertain.

"Raven, I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you, it's just-"

"Thank you for saving our lives." Blaise cut him off.

Scorpius just looked at him, his eyes wide at the words Blaise spoke.

"Um, y-you're wel-welcome." he stuttered.

"It's unfortunate what happened with your sister, but your gift saved me and my daughter's life today. Although Raven seems cautious about it, I believe it's something truly unique that you possess," he said before he turned back to Raven and gently led her out of the room.

Raven glanced back at Scorpius and gave him a small smile just so he wouldn't think she was angry. He smiled back and accepted the fact that she just needed time to process everything she had seen today.

* * *

Ginny sat on the edge of her seat resting her elbows on her knees, holding her head in her hands. She was nervously tapping her foot as she grew impatient for news on Ellie's condition. She felt Draco rubbing her back to try and calm her down. She sat up suddenly and turned to Draco, her eyes puffy and welled with tears.

"We did this to her," she said to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Our powers, the way they are affecting her...we did this to her."

"Ginny calm down," he said, getting up and gently grabbing her shoulders as he knelt down in front of her. "We didn't do anything to her, she is just struggling with controlling them," he reassured her, even though he was worried out of his mind about what was going on with Ellie.

He didn't want to worry Ginny anymore than she already was so he tried his best to lift her spirits with a positive outcome.

"I can't handle seeing her in that much pain and not being able to do a damn thing about it." she cried as Draco pulled her tightly in his arms to comfort her.

They both jumped up at the sight of the doctor approaching them.

"What's wrong with her? Is she awake? Can we see her?" Ginny berated her with questions.

"Ellie is still unconscious, she is stable for now." the doctor explained.

"For now?" Draco asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, the truth is that we don't normally deal with cases like this. We have treated her for any injuries and effects that she's endured, but as for the cause behind her abilities and how they are affecting her...you're going to want her to see a specialist for that. Someone who is familiar with these cases."

"Ok, well when will she see them?" Draco pressed on.

"The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes has a medical lab branch not too far from the Ministry. Robert and Jack Adwell are the people you would want to speak to about Ellie's condition."

"No, that's not happening," Ginny said firmly, her face filled with rage at the mere thought of Ellie being evaluated by anyone from the Ministry.

"Well, if Ellie doesn't get the proper help and she keeps experiencing episodes like this it could really harm her. As I said, I don't know much about cases like these, for all we know she could wake up any minute and be perfectly fine," she said with a small smile. "You both can come in and see her if you'd like," she said, leading the way down the hall.

Draco and Ginny walked into the room and the doctor left to give them some privacy. They both just stood there in the doorway just looking at their daughter lying there. They never had to deal with something like this before, not with any of their children. Ginny slowly walked to her bedside and gently picked up her hand, the veins in her arms and her face was still discolored. She picked up a piece of her different colored hair before she ran her hands through it.

"Ginny?"

She heard Draco softly call to her.

"Maybe we should think more about accepting help from Jack and Robert Adwell. At least have them evaluate her?" he suggested, the idea wasn't sitting well with him either, but he couldn't stand to see one of his children like this.

He knew how dangerous Ginny was all those years ago...how dangerous he was and how he hurt Ginny one time and killed so many people. He was scared for Ellie and he was desperate to get her the help she needed.

"Draco...Gin?"

They both turned to see Harry and Hermione in the hall.

"What's going on?" Draco asked.

"Kingsley wants to see us all in his office immediately," Harry said.

Draco just nodded before Hermione walked in and wrapped Ginny in a hug.

"Any news?" Harry asked.

"Not really, they want to send her to Adwell for further evaluation," Draco explained, glancing at Ginny once more for her reaction.

"Maybe that isn't such a bad idea, Ginny. If it will help her then you should consider it." Hermione gently said.

Ginny remained silent.

"We better get to the Ministry," Harry said.

Draco hugged Ginny tightly before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?"

She nodded.

Draco leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of Ellie's head before he followed Harry and Hermione out of the room.

* * *

Ginny's eyes snapped open at the sound of crying filling the room. Her body was stiff from falling asleep in the chair beside Ellie's bed. She quickly realized Ellie wasn't in the bed, but in the corner on the floor across the room.

"Ellie?" she called to her as she got up from the chair.

"NO!" she cried out. "Mum, please don't come over here...I'm scared I'll hurt you." she sobbed against her knees.

Ginny's eyes welled with tears as she thought back to the first time she realized she had powers. How she locked herself in the bathroom and Draco assured her that she wouldn't hurt him.

"Baby, you won't hurt me." she softly said before she kneeled down in front of her. "Come here." she gestured for her to come closer.

Ellie was hesitant at first, but she slowly reached forward for her mother's outstretched hand. As soon as she felt her mother's touch, she threw herself into Ginny's arms and latched onto her. Ginny suddenly felt Ellie's grip on her tighten, her fingers digging into her back as she let out a whimper of pain. She pulled back a bit to look at Ellie, one of her eyes black and the other white.

"Come on; let's get you back into bed," Ginny said helping her get under the covers. "What hurts Ellie?" Ginny asked her, the feeling of helplessness breaking her heart.

Ellie let out a growl of pain as she grabbed her head. "Everything." she gasped through the agony that her body was experiencing.

Ginny climbed into bed next to her and held her closely against her. She could feel the temperature change in Ellie's body as she fought to control her powers.

"I wish I could take all your pain away," she whispered in her ear as she rocked her a bit.

Ginny suddenly had an idea as she slowly stopped rocking Ellie and turned to look at her.

"What is it, Mum?"

She just smiled at Ellie before she took her wand out and waved it at the door to the room and locked it. "I'm going to take all your pain away."

Ellie stared at her with wide eyes. "But how?"

"Here, take my hand," Ginny said, watching Ellie do as she was told and lace her fingers with hers.

Ginny felt Ellie's body start to heat up, her body trembling with pain as she held her. She took her wand and pointed it at Ellie. "Hauriendum," she whispered.

A bright light emerged from Ginny's wand and slithered around Ellie's body and down her arm until it reached their entwined hands. It traveled up Ginny's arm and around her body until her body seemed to have absorbed it and the pain was immediate.

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut, her first thoughts were of how her daughter had to endure such pain. She noticed Ellie still struggling to fight against her powers and she clasped her hand tighter with hers.

"Look at me baby, just let it out...let it all out," Ginny told her.

Ellie shook her head. "No, I can't."

"You can, I can handle it...release your powers, I'll be fine, I promise," Ginny said with a forced smile through the pain that ran through her limbs.

Ellie locked eyes with her mother for a moment before she closed hers and let out a shaky breath. She felt her body give in and let go of everything.

Ginny didn't expect the shooting pain that came next as she threw her head back and let out a loud scream. Her entire body was covered in pins and needles, her head getting ready to split in two. She started sensing something was wrong and she looked back at Ellie and then at their hands. She could see the veins in her arms turning a black and gold color and she suddenly jumped up off the bed and backed away from her daughter. She could already see the difference in Ellie's face.

Ginny's eyes turned black and her body became engulfed in flames as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Ellie watched in horror as her mother struggled against the power she seemed to have absorbed from her and then everything stopped.

Ginny fell to her knees and looked up at Ellie.

"Mum?" she choked out.

Ginny just watched the room start to spin and her vision turn blurry as she felt her face collide with the hard cold floor. She saw the door finally open and someone came running in as the room faded into darkness.

* * *

She tried to open her eyes, but the pain in her head made it excruciating for her to even let the slightest bit of light in. Whatever she did manage to see through her cracked lids was blurry. She went to rub her eyes when she felt her hands had been strapped down to the hospital bed she knew she was in.

"El...Ellie?" she choked out as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy, you're awake."

She couldn't make out who the man was, she couldn't even make out her surroundings, she just knew she was in the hospital. She watched the dark figure of a man walk up to her bedside and wiped her arm with something wet.

"Wh...what is that?" she asked, her eyes taking in what looked like a syringe.

"It was quite brave of you to use the Hauriendum spell like that on your daughter. Your body is able to handle the powers better than her body ever could. Your fire abilities have diminished all traces of ice that ran through your veins."

"Who are you? What is that?"

"This..." the man said, holding up the syringe."Hmm, how can I explain this...think of it as a steroid...it will lay dormant in your system for a little while until you lose that temper of yours. When you do...well, let's just say they will want to contain you and when they do, they'll send you straight to me." he said.

She attempted to shake her head as he grabbed her arm and injected her with the black liquid. As soon as it entered her body, her eyes turned black once more and her hands struggled to free themselves as she fought against her restraints. She screamed out as her body convulsed for a few moments before she finally fell limp, her vision blurry again.

The man walked up to the side of the bed. "Relax Ginny; this is all just a dream...none of this is real."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell into darkness.

 **A/N: There it is! What did you all think? Does everyone remember the Hauriendum spell from the first story? It is KILLING ME to not have much reviews on this story yet, soooo please tell me what you guys think so far =D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I am begging for feedback guys, how are you enjoying the story so far? Let me know =D**

 **Also, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **On to the story!**

"Ginny? Hey Gin."

She felt someone lightly shake her as she opened her eyes to see Draco kneeling beside the chair she had fallen asleep in.

"Hey, I'm back, sorry it took me so long. Kingsley is getting a lot of concerns from everyone after what happened, so the meeting took a lot longer than I thought. How is Ellie? The doctor said she had woken up earlier and was a bit riled up?"

She just looked at him blankly, she was confused. Did she ever use the spell on Ellie? It was as if she'd been asleep in the chair the whole time Draco was gone.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked her.

She nodded before she got up and sat on the bed beside Ellie, who was waking up.

"Mum?" Ellie called out at the sight of her, some panic in her voice. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Of course baby, what about you?" she asked, hugging her tightly.

"I feel so much better," she said as she looked down at her arms to see them back to normal.

She slipped out of bed and walked over to the mirror to see her normal self again. Her white and black eyes, her purple and black veins and even her multicolored hair had all gone away and she smiled at her reflection.

"It worked, Mum. That spell you used, it worked," she said before she ran over to her and threw her arms around her mother.

"Spell? What spell?" Draco asked, his eyes piercing into Ginny's.

"I want you to rest some more, your father and I need to talk." Ginny softly said before she gave her one last hug, then led the way out of the room with Draco on her heels.

"Ginny what the fuck happened while I was gone?" he demanded; his face angry but his eyes held concern.

"Ellie woke up in unbearable pain again, her powers in full swing... I couldn't watch her like that anymore Draco."

"What did you do?"

She just looked at him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, GINNY!" he yelled.

"I used the Hauriendum spell on her."

He turned away from her as he ran his hand roughly over his face. "Are you insane Ginny? You have no idea what that could've resulted in."

"I know and I'm sorry, but Draco, I didn't know what else to do."

"Well, how do you feel? Are you ok? Ellie seems a lot better so far." he asked, looking her over from head to toe.

She nodded. "Everything is fine...I'm fine, just a little tired," she said with a small smile.

He just shook his head at her and at how crazy she was sometimes. He knew Ginny would do anything for their children, as would he, so to be angry at something he probably would've done too at the moment seemed unfair.

"I'm still concerned for Ellie and for you. Are you sure you're ok?" he asked once more, wrapping his arms around her.

Ginny stopped to think about how she felt again. Other than feeling a little confused over the dream she might or might not have had, she felt perfectly fine.

"I just want to take our baby home and see the kids." she sighed, burying her face in Draco's chest.

"Me too."

* * *

"Thanks, Mum for staying with the kids," Ginny said, giving her mum a tight hug.

"Of course, Dear, no problem at all. How is Ellie? She'll be able to come home soon?" Molly asked.

"The doctor just wanted to keep her for the night. She'll be home tomorrow, hopefully." Draco said with a small smile.

"Ellie is coming home? So does she have powers now? How did they help her?" Ember asked as her, Scorpius and Aurora walked into the room, each one of them wearing an equal look of concern.

"We don't know much right now guys. All we know is that Ellie-"

"She has both powers... fire and ice?" Ember cut her father off. "Were they able to help her control them?" she quickly asked.

Draco turned to Ginny and raised an eyebrow at her before he turned back to the three children. "As of right now they are under control... we hope. Let's discuss this further tomorrow, your mother and I have had a long day... we all have," he said, locking eyes with Ginny once more.

"Well, I better be getting home to your father anyway. Goodnight my loves." Molly said as she pulled each one of them into a tight hug. "We've managed to repair most of the damages in the ballroom as much as magic would allow."

"Thanks, Molly," Draco said before he walked her to the door.

* * *

Draco spit out the last of the toothpaste from his mouth and rinsed it before he glanced over at Ginny looking herself over in the mirror across the bedroom. She had her sleeves rolled up and it looked like she was trying to find something. She leaned forward and looked closely in the mirror at her face and neck before she grabbed a few strands of her hair and looked at them.

"Is everything alright, Gin?" he asked, walking over to her.

She gave a small jump when she heard his voice and then quickly nodded.

"What are you looking for?"

She just looked at him and gave a small sigh. "Have you ever had a dream, but then you can't remember if what you thought was a dream was actually something that happened?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, no?" he answered with an amused smile.

She just shook her head before she let out another long sigh.

"What's going on, Ginny?" he asked her.

"When I used the spell on Ellie... I thought I remember passing out because the pain was overwhelming. I had a dream, well, what I'm assuming was a dream, that I woke up in a hospital room and I was strapped down and someone injected me with something."

Draco's eyes were on her the whole time, taking in every word she spoke.

"But, when I woke up I was in the same chair I had fallen asleep in earlier so... maybe it wasn't real? Maybe it was just a dream? I don't know." she shrugged, as she started to assume she was just overreacting.

"Well, do you feel any different?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, just a bit tired like I said." She shook her head in confusion. "I think I've just had really draining day and my dreams are starting to seem like reality." she said with a bit of amusement before rubbing her face.

He just gave her a smile before he leaned over and kissed her head. "Come on," he said, gesturing towards the bed.

Ginny crawled into bed and turned the lamp off as Draco did the same and then cuddled up in his arms. They both just lay there in silence as they relived the events over the last two days.

"I wish our Ellie was here with us right now," Ginny breathed out against his chest.

He could feel the small tremble of her body as she started to cry and he pulled her closer. "She will be soon."

* * *

Ember sat with her legs folded on her bed, her palm facing up in front of her. She held a small flame and just stared at it, getting lost in the way it danced off of her skin. She replayed the scene that took place in the ballroom with Ellie in her head over and over. Her sister's painful screams ringing in her ears... the fear in her eyes. The flame in her hand grew bigger, a tear escaping from her eye and sliding down her face.

There was a knock on her door suddenly and she closed her eyes tightly to release the few tears that were already building up to fall and quickly wiped her face.

"Come in," she called.

Scorpius walked in and sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you ok?"

She nodded.

"You weren't yesterday... in the ballroom... you froze up."

She met his gaze for a moment and then turned it to her fidgeting hands. She shook her head to avoid any emotion from surfacing at her brother's words.

"I was scared," she whispered.

"Of Ellie?"

She shook her head. "No... I was scared for her... seeing her like that made me feel scared to use mine. What if one day I lose control or you?"

"That's not going to happen, we have control," he said, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a light shake as he watched her eyes well with tears. "Ember, you're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You possess everything you need to strengthen your powers and keep them in check." he continued to look at her for a moment before he continued. "You're also smart enough to know when someone isn't treating you like you should be treated."

She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

He was hesitant for a moment. "You know what I mean."

"What does Noah have to do with this conversation?" she snapped.

"Because he's messing with your head, you've always been confident in your abilities and I get the incident with Ellie has you shaken up, but even before that you started doubting everything."

"I don't want to hear this, get out." she snapped.

"I think you need to hear it. Noah has done nothing but suck every last trace of self-confidence and self-esteem you have left. He treats you like shit and I'm getting sick of it."

"Get out!" she demanded loudly, pointing to the door.

He got up and started towards the door when he stopped and looked at her. "You might be able to keep turning a blind eye, but as for me, I'm done with it. Noah's an asshole," he said with a sneer before he left her bedroom.

* * *

The next day Ginny and Draco made their way to St. Mungo's to bring Ellie back home. Just as Ginny was approaching Ellie's room, she saw Robert Adwell leaving it. She quickly made her way up to him, her anger rising.

"What were you just doing in my daughter's room?" she demanded.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, nice to see you both again. I was called here to check up on Ell-"

"By who? Who told you to come here?" Ginny asked.

"The hospital, they needed a specialist in cases like this to do a proper evaluation before the patient can go home."

"Without consent? We are her parents, why weren't we informed of this?" Ginny hissed.

The doctor came over when she heard Ginny's voice starting to rise. "Mrs. Malfoy, I apologize for not contacting you and your husband first, but we wouldn't have been able to discharge her without her seeing a specialist."

"How dare you!" Ginny yelled, she felt Draco gently grab her arm as she got closer to Robert Adwell.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"How convenient for you, you think you could just come in here and take whatever you want for your fuckin experiments?"

"Mrs. Malfoy, I can assure you, I haven't taken anything from Ellie, we only spoke... that was all," he assured her.

She pushed past him and walked into the room to see Ellie's giant smile when she saw her mother enter the room.

"Baby, are you ok? Did they take any blood? Did they give you anything? Did they-"

"No, Mum, calm down... everything is ok." she quickly said as Ginny started freaking out and looking her over. "Mum! Mr. Adwell and I only spoke... I swear." she said, giving her mum a reassuring smile.

After Ginny let her words sink in she finally nodded before she pulled her into the tightest hug she could without Ellie objecting.

"Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

Later that evening dinner at the Manor was just about back to normal. Ginny was finishing up dinner in the kitchen and had Ava pulling on her leg to pick her up as she started crying.

"Mum, where are my school robes?" Harper asked.

"They are in your dresser."

"I looked, they aren't in there." Harper insisted.

"Yes, they are, try opening all of the drawers and not just two," Ginny ordered as Harper rolled her eyes and left the kitchen.

"Mum, I can't find my Herbology book," Riley said.

"I already put it in your bag... STOP LEAVING YOUR SCHOOL BOOKS IN THE BATHROOM!" she yelled after Riley as she took off back upstairs to finish packing.

"Did you ever wash my blouse, Mum?" Ember asked, walking into the kitchen with work attire on, this being the third outfit she was trying on.

"Which one? You have a thousand." Ginny snorted.

"The black one."

"Well, thanks for narrowing it down... what does it look like?" Ginny asked as she handed Ava her sippy cup in an attempt to quiet her whining.

"The one with the little ruffle-"

"Oh, shoot, sorry I forgot to wash that one."

"But Mum, I need it for work tomorrow."

"Ember you're an adult, maybe you and Scorpius could start washing your own laundry?" Ginny suggested.

Ember looked at her like she had three heads. "I'll just find something else to wear," she said as she stormed off.

Ginny shook her head at her daughter's dramatic departure from the kitchen. "And that's your big sister," Ginny said as she smiled down at Ava, who gave a small giggle through her tears at her mother acknowledging her.

She picked Ava up and placed her on her hip when she saw Ellie walking past.

"Hey, hey, hey," she called as she quickly stopped her in the hall. "What are you doing?"

"Packing to head back to school tomorrow," she said as if it were obvious.

"You're not going back tomorrow, I want you home and resting for a few more days before you go back," Ginny said sternly before she turned back towards the potatoes she attempted to mash with her free hand.

"What! But Mum, I already missed classes before I left and-"

"Don't even start, I don't want to hear it. I want you home for a few days and that's final." Ginny said.

Ellie looked at her mum's face, it still had worry and fear in it and she felt her heart sink. Ellie saw what her mother went through when she used that spell on her, she took all that pain from her. After a moment of reliving the past few days in her head, she looked at her mother and gave her a nod and then a small smile.

Both of their attention turned to the front door when the bell rang. Ginny made her way over when she saw Draco also walking into the foyer and answered the door.

"Professor? What are you doing here?" Draco asked.

"Good evening Mr. Malfoy, forgive me for intruding but it's important I speak to both you and Ginny tonight," McGonagall said.

"Of course, come in."

They all headed into the dining room and took a seat at the table. Ginny could tell something was off by the look on McGonagall's face.

"Professor, please don't beat around the bush, what's going on?" Ginny asked.

McGonagall dropped her gaze for a moment before she looked back up at the both of them. "There's no easy way to say this so...I'll just get on with it. I'm afraid none of your children will be able to come back to school at this time."

"What? Why not?" Draco asked in confusion.

"After what happened with poor Ellie word has spread and the parents are concerned for their children's well-being."

"Professor, are you really not going to let our children attend school because of what a few parents think?" Ginny asked.

"Of course not, however, the Ministry will. Unfortunately, the Ministry had demanded that I not accept any of the children back before they undergo a mandatory evaluation."

"What!" both Draco and Ginny shouted in unison

"Who ordered this? I need to go talk to Kingsley." Draco said, getting up.

"That won't do you any good Mr. Malfoy."

"And why the hell not?" he said with a sneer.

"Because it was Kingsley Shacklebolt who ordered it."

Draco and Ginny exchanged a quick look of disbelief.

"I don't understand, why can't Aurora, Riley, and Harper go back? They don't have powers." Ginny explained.

"I understand, but the Ministry feels it would be safer if all the children were evaluated by a specialist who is familiar with dealing with people who have special abilities."

"What if we refuse? Then what? Our kids can never go back to Hogwarts?" Draco fumed.

McGonagall stood up at the tone Draco used towards her. "Mr. Malfoy, need I remind you who stood by both of your sides through everything with your father? How I offered you both protection and was there in a heartbeat for all of you back then? You know if I could do more I would."

Draco lowered his head at her words, he felt ashamed for taking such a tone with the Headmistress.

"I have and will always look out for you both and your family, but in this case, I'm afraid there is not much more I can do when it comes to going against a direct order from the Ministry. I will keep trying to do what I can, I assure you."

They both nodded.

"I'm sorry to see you both go through this, please let me know if there is something I can do in the meantime," she said before she made her way toward the door.

* * *

Scorpius and his sisters stood at the top of the staircase overhearing the conversation that went on between McGonagall and their parents.

"They can't really do that, can they?" Ellie asked.

Ember and Scorpius exchanged a quick look before they looked back at her.

"I don't know," Ember said softly as they watched the Headmistress leave the Manor.

Ginny and Draco walked into the room to see all their children standing at the top of the staircase. Draco's eyes fell on Harper, he could tell all the way from the bottom of the stairs that there were tears in her eyes.

"Harp-"

She took off running to her bedroom before he could get a word out. His heart sank, he knew how much she loved school and she had just made the Quidditch team.

"We need to talk to Kingsley tomorrow," Draco said, his eyes falling on the rest of the disappointed expression on his kid's faces.

None of them said anything, they just silently made their way to their bedrooms.

* * *

"Enter," Kingsley called at the knock on his door.

He looked up to see Draco and Ginny before him. He gave a hard sigh before he gestured for them to take a seat.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, before you-"

"What the hell Kingsley? You of all people are keeping our kids from going to school. How the fuck can you do that to us... to them? After everything we've been through." Draco exploded on the man.

Ginny gently grabbed his hand to calm him, although, she wasn't sure if she herself could keep calm.

"You are right, we have been through a great deal together and I will never forget that. However, I will also never forget the death toll and the damage you both caused from not having control over your powers. Do you realize how many people were actually almost killed that night when your daughter lost control? Fifteen people were severely injured, five of them near death. As much history as we have, I need to mind my position as Minister of Magic and do what I believe is best... not just for you, but for everyone." Kingsley explained.

Ginny and Draco lowered their heads at his words, but the anger was still apparent in their features.

"Why can't Aurora, Riley, and Harper at least attend school? They don't have any powers." Ginny asked.

"Not yet," Kingsley said.

"What do you mean not yet? They don't, Aurora will be seventeen soon and she doesn't have any signs of magical ability. Please don't do this to them." Ginny pleaded with him.

"They are all welcome to attend Hogwarts again pending a full evaluation with Robert and Jack Adwell."

"What kind of evaluation? What does that entail?" she asked, her anger rising at the mention of the Adwell brothers.

"Everything, blood work and all," Kingsley said.

Ginny's nail dug into the handles of the chair she was in as her anger kept rising. She felt a slight pounding in her head as she thought about the possibility of her children ending up exactly where she didn't want them to be.

"What about Scorpius and Ember? They are out of school." Draco asked.

"I will give them some time to voluntarily submit themselves for evaluation, otherwise, I will send out an Auror to retrieve them. If they possess the same abilities, then I want to know they are controlled, so once Ember and Scorpius can prove that then everything will be fine."

"And what if for some reason you find out they can't control them? Then what?" Ginny asked, her eyes daring him to say something that would push her over the edge.

He seemed to pick up on her threatening glare. "We will cross that road if and when we get to it." he simply said.

Ginny stood up abruptly and headed towards the door. "I'm done with this conversation for now," she said, before slamming the door shut behind her.

When she got into the hallway, she grabbed one of her hands to her chest as she felt the rising heat start to surface. She took a steady breath and leaned up against the wall to calm herself down. The whole time her dream was replaying in her head.

"Hey, are you ok?" Draco asked, walking out of Kingsley's office.

She quickly nodded before Draco took her hands in his, the fire still running through her fingers. He looked into her eyes firmly. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She quickly nodded once more. "Yes, I'm fine," she said before he wrapped her into a hug.

"Come on," he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her down the hall.

* * *

Draco made his way towards the front door at the sound of the bell, Ginny walking behind him.

"Look, all I'm saying is that maybe one of us should go see what an evaluation with the Adwell brothers actually is before we subject our kids to it," Ginny stated.

Draco opened the door to see Jacob standing there. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, nice to see you again," he said, reaching forward to shake Draco's hand.

"Oh hey... Jacob right?" Draco asked as he took the young man's hand.

"Yes."

"I'll go get Ember for you," Ginny said with a small smile.

"Um, actually I'm not here for Ember," he said.

Ginny and Draco exchanged a quick look.

"Well, I am, but I wanted to have a quick word with the both you if I may?" he asked.

Draco raised an eyebrow as he grew curious at what he might possibly need to speak with them about. "Alright, what is it?"

"Well, it's a question really," he said, his nerves starting to affect his speech. "I've only known Ember a short time and all and I was won-wondering if it w-would be alright with you both if I... took her o-out on a d-date?" he stuttered.

Once the words left his mouth, he let out a long breath. He tensed up again once the question was out there in the open. He was standing there in front of Draco Malfoy asking if could take his daughter, one of his most prized possessions, out on a date.

"You're asking us if you can take Ember out? She is an adult you know?" Ginny said.

"Of course, but if you both don't approve, then I wouldn't want to overstep."

Draco was impressed by the young man before him, he never expected this to be what Jacob wanted to talk to them about.

"Jacob, you do realize Ember has a boyfriend right? His name is Noah, he was at the party?" Draco reminded him, his arms crossed in amusement.

Jake smirked at his comment before he looked at Draco. "I am well aware of Noah and who he is to Ember."

"And you still want to ask her out?" Ginny asked, a smile forming on her face.

"Let's just say, I'd like for it to be known that I am interested in taking her out sometime. She could do whatever she'd like with that information." Jake explained.

Draco started to give a light chuckle at Jacob's intentions. He liked the fact that Jacob could pick up on the way Noah treated Ember and that was why he wanted to make his presence known still to Ember.

"You have my permission to ask Ember out," he said, shaking his hand one last time before he looked at Ginny. "This will be interesting."

* * *

She closed her eyes tightly, she could feel the warm sensation wanting to surface but it would never come. She focused on the cold waves she could feel that threatened to cover her hand, but again it dissipated.

"Ellie?"

She turned to see her Harry behind her walking out into the yard.

"Hey Harry, is everyone already here?" she asked, turning back towards the open field in front of her.

"Almost, just waiting for your aunt and uncle. I'm surprised they're late, Ron never misses dinner at his mum's"

They both laughed.

"What are you doing? Looks like you're really concentrating on something," he said, taking a seat beside her on the steps.

She sighed before she turned around to look at her mother laughing with her grandparents through the farmhouse window. "My mother saved my life... but it's like she took my powers away. That's what I thought anyway, but I can feel that they are still here inside of me."

"Like before?"

"No, nothing like before... if anything weaker, a lot weaker, but I can't conjure them up. I feel them, but when I try to focus there's just... nothing." she shrugged, her face holding disappointment.

"You want to have powers?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just feel like something is missing without them. Now that they don't seem to be affecting me the way they used to I want to explore them a bit. The only thing is... I'm scared. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I can understand that."

She looked at him. "You can?"

"A lot more than you think," he said with a small smile.

"It just sucks to know I have these powers and feel them, but I can't make anything happen," she said, growing frustrated as she flailed her hands about.

He chuckled. "Relax, first off, you're letting your fear get in the way of you successfully conjuring them. If your powers are lying dormant right now, you'll have to really focus to make them surface. Your emotions play a big part in how your powers can be used, unfortunately... Sometimes not in the way you intended them to be." he said quietly, more to himself than to her. "Just promise me you will never hide something like that again from your parents."

"I promise," she said before he put his arm around her and gave her a small hug.

* * *

"I can't believe that Kingsley is actually letting this happen." Hermione went off into a rant, barely touching her dinner as she grew angry.

"Hermione, as the Minister of Magic he is doing what he thinks is best. Now, believe me, I don't want my grandchildren to miss out on their experience at Hogwarts either, but put yourself in the shoes of the other parents." Arthur explained. "If you knew another student that had gone through or possessed the same amount of power that Ellie released that night and they went to that same school with your children, you wouldn't feel the least bit concerned?"

Nobody said anything.

"Tell me about these evaluations?" Hermione asked.

"They want to put them all through testing and even went as far as threatening to send Aurors out to escort Ember and Scorpius to get evaluated also," Ginny stated angrily.

"That makes no sense, do you think someone else has a hand in this?" Hermione asked.

"It's probably because of that new guy that's taking over as Minister of Magic." came Ember's voice suddenly as she was eavesdropping.

They all turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"I guess this means I can sit with the adults for a moment?" she said sarcastically, taking a seat beside her father. "The other day when I was talking to Bridgette she said something about Kingsley retiring or stepping down and that some guy was taking over. I don't remember his name... Beckett or something."

"Edward Beckett?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yeah him."

"Edward Beckett is the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. He use to work in the Magical Law Department when Lucius was at large. He always seemed like a nice enough fellow, but he was always a stickler for the rules. It's no wonder this all is coming about, it might be out of Kingsley's hands at this point." Arthur explained.

Draco gave Ember a side glance, a small smirk forming on his face at the information she provided them with.

"I have to start heading out," Ember said suddenly.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"I'm going to see Noah for a little bit," she said, hugging her grandparents goodbye.

Draco rolled his eyes at the mention of his name.

"See you guys at home," she said, waving to her parents before quickly leaving the house.

"Nice, we're her parents and we don't even get a hug goodbye." Draco drawled.

* * *

Ember kept talking and pacing Noah's bedroom about everything going on at home. He watched her the whole time as she would take a seat and then get up again and go off on another rant.

"I mean, does that even seem right to you?" she finally asked, sitting down on his bed once more.

"Ember, it's just a precaution the Ministry is taking. I mean your sister almost killed close to twenty people," he said.

"Not on purpose." she snapped.

"I know not on purpose, I just mean, what's the big deal about just getting a few tests done? My father does that all the time on people."

"My mother has always kept us away from things like that and to be honest, I'm starting to see why."

"Listen, why don't you just stop thinking about that stuff right now and relax a bit," he said as he moved her hair from her neck and placed a few kisses against her skin.

"Maybe you can talk to your dad? Make him convince the Minister that the evaluations aren't necessary or something?" she said, turning to face him, a hopeful look on her face.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want," he said, pulling her lips to his.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to him and see what I can do," he said as his hands worked at undressing her.

He laid her back onto his bed as he continued kissing her body.

"Poor Harper, she's devastated by the whole thing. She wouldn't even play Quidditch tonight at my grandparents." she sighed, unaware of Noah's intentions as she got lost in her thoughts.

"That's too bad," he said, as he unbuttoned her pants and kept trailing kisses along her body.

"Are you evening listening to me?" she asked, propping herself up to look down at him.

"Of course I am," he said, unzipping his pants and getting ready to climb on top of her.

She sat up on the edge of the bed with Noah standing between her legs. "What do you think you're doing? I'm trying to have a conversation with you? Do you even care?" she snapped.

"I do care, I'm just trying to make you forget about all that stress for a little while. Let me take your mind off things," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

She pulled away from the kiss a bit and looked at him. "Noah, I'm not in the mood," she said.

"So let me get you in the mood," he said, kissing her neck again.

She let him kiss her for a few moments before she started to shake her head. "I'm just not feeling up to anything like that tonight."

"Ember, honestly, you over think way too much." he softly said to her before he grabbed her legs and pulled her closer to him making her lose her balance and fall backward onto his bed again.

She sat back up. "Noah, I'm serious," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He pushed her back down before a smile crossed his lips. "So am I, let me just take the lead, you don't have to do a thing," he said as he started to pull her pants down.

Ember's stomach dropped at the force behind the way he pushed her. She knew he was very handsy and always tried to push sex on her, but she felt uneasy at this moment.

"Noah, please get off of me," she said calmly, hoping her tone would bring him back to reality.

She reached down to keep him from pulling her pants down when he grabbed her hands and stopped her.

"Just chill babe, seriously, I've never been with someone so resistant before," he said becoming annoyed.

"I thought you were a virgin?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I just told you that so you would feel more comfortable." he scoffed before he attempted to pull her pants down again.

"Get off of me." she fumed.

He looked at the angry look on her face and just smirked at how cute she looked all mad. He went to lean down to kiss her when she slapped him hard across the face.

"What the hell Ember!" he said loudly.

"Get the fuck off of me, NOW!" she shouted.

He looked at her, she could see he was actually contemplating whether to back off or continue.

"I swear if you don't get off of me I-"

"You'll what? Turn into a freak like your sister?" he laughed. "Please, you think I'll actually talk to my father about any of that shit? You all need to be evaluated, especially that monster of a sister you have."

"Noah, back off now before I burn you the fuck alive."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Do you want to find out?"

She felt her blood boiling as he got off of her before he brought out something inside of her that he'd regret. The amusement was still on his face.

"I thought you were my friend," she said with disgust.

"Pft, please, never, I just wanted to fuck you," he stated.

"Why me?"

"Well, for starters, you're hot as fuck, but you're also a Malfoy. In the Ministry world when you're friends with some of the children of the most important Ministry officials it gets you more reputation points." he shrugged. "Just wanted to add a Malfoy to my list."

She was silent, her face and neck red with anger, but she remained calm. She walked towards the door and stopped to look at him. "You're right Noah, I am a Malfoy and I promise you... that you'll regret tonight," she said with a small smile before she turned on her heel and left his house.

* * *

Scorpius was flipping through his book, his mind on Raven and the way she responded to his powers. He hadn't seen her since the party and thought of going to her, but didn't want to make her feel pressured. The knock on his bedroom door pulled him from his thoughts and before he could walk to the door Ember opened it.

He just looked at her, he could tell something was wrong.

She just leaned against his doorframe. "You were right," she said in a small voice.

"What do you mean?"

"About Noah," she said, walking over to him.

"What happened?" he asked after seeing the tears in her eyes.

"He tried to force himself on me tonight," she said, locking eyes with him.

He turned away from her for a quick second before looking at her again. His face was twisted into a sneer, but his tone was calm. "Are you ok?" he asked her, gently grabbing her shoulders.

She nodded before she felt the shiver run through her body from his hands on her arms. She could feel the rage inside him.

"I want him to pay for it," she said, an equal amount of rage seething through her.

His eyes pierced into hers. "I'll take care of it."

 **A/N: Ok so the story is definitely getting more darker. Things are just going from bad to worse right now. Your thoughts? PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE! I NEED THEM! I MUST HAVE THEM! XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who continues to read my work, it means so much to me.**

 **If you haven't already done so, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

The next day after Ember's uneasy encounter with Noah, her mind seemed to be permanently stuck on that night. Her brother's constant warnings ringing in her ears and her parent's constant disapproval of him should have opened her eyes. Her eyes fell on him across the room as he and his father made their way through the Ministry this morning.

"There's your precious Noah," Draco said, glaring at Noah from across the room. "I guess this is where we part ways?" he teased her before he went to walk off.

Ember quickly grabbed her father's arm before he could leave her side. "I'll walk with you up to my floor," she said.

"Willingly? To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked with a smirk as they made their way to the elevators.

Before she could answer, she saw Noah make his way to share the elevator with them. Before he could step foot on it, she grabbed the gate and slammed it closed.

"Sorry, we're full." she drawled as she shot a deadly glare at him as he smirked back.

She felt the elevator finally shoot up and she let out a long breath.

"What was that all about?" Draco asked.

She just shook her head. "It's nothing, we're just fighting."

"Sounds like nothing new." he shrugged. "Are you ok?" he asked her as he noticed the sudden rise in temperature.

She snapped her head over to him. "What? Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she finally stepped out onto her floor.

"You want to do lunch?" Draco asked her.

She had her back to him as she just stared down the hallway to where she knew her desk to be. She nodded at his question and then turned and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Draco was caught off guard by her sudden gesture, but his heart melted at the feel of his daughters hug.

"I love you, Dad," she said.

He just smiled at her words. "I love you too. Do you need to talk Ember?" he asked, trying to pull back to better look at her.

She hugged him tighter. "Don't let me go... not yet," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

He could hear her voice cracking and his heart broke to hear it, especially from Ember. He couldn't remember the last time he held her in his arms like this, he missed it a great deal.

"What's going on Ember?" he softly asked her as she finally let him look at her face.

She shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. "I'll tell you, just not now... not yet."

He nodded before he hugged her tightly again.

* * *

Ginny knocked on Harper's door and saw her lying in her bed still. She glanced at the clock and saw it was past noon. She let out a sigh at how depressed she was over not returning to Hogwarts.

She walked over and took a seat on the side of her bed. "Hey Sweetie, you want to come along to have lunch with your Dad and sister?"

She shook her head.

Ginny frowned, she hated seeing Harper so down.

"You know what?" Ginny said as she leaned over to get a better look at Harper's face. "How about I skip lunch today and you and I go hit the Quidditch pitch instead?"

Harper quickly sat up, her face full of excitement. "Really? You'll come fly with me?"

"Of course, you know I use to play. Come on, show me what you're made of kiddo." Ginny teased as she followed Harper's running form down the hall.

Ginny finally made her way onto the pitch and just took a moment to watch Harper grab her broom and a Quaffle. Her face was filled with happiness, something Ginny missed seeing on her kids' faces these past few days. Everything somehow seemed like it was slipping from her grasp and she was starting to lose control.

"Mum, you ready?"

Ginny was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Harper's voice and she quickly nodded. She grabbed a broom and pushed off the ground and watched her little Harper fly about. Her heart soared when she watched the look on her face, she was so happy. Ginny was quite impressed with her flying skills and thought back to her Quidditch days back at Hogwarts. It made her heart hurt for Harper, even more, when she started thinking about how much she would be missing out on.

She cleared her head and threw the Quaffle around for a while with Harper until they decided to take a break for some much-needed lunch.

* * *

Scorpius gave a quick hard knock on the front door and impatiently waited for an answer. The conversation Ember had with him last night still fresh in his mind. He tried to compose himself when he saw the blonde standing before him in the doorway.

"Scorpius? Nice of you to drop by. Come on in."

"Thanks, Luna. Is James here?" he asked, making his way inside.

"Yes, he's up in his room," she said gesturing upstairs.

He gave a small thankful nod and quickly climbed the stairs before he gave another knock. He barely waited for an answer before he made his way inside and closed the door.

"Well, come on in," James said with a smirk.

"I need your help," he said, his tone firm and his face serious.

James took notice of this and stopped packing his bag and turned his attention to the young man. "Sure, with what?"

Scorpius saw his bags packed and gave a frustrated sigh. "When are you going back to Hogwarts?"

"Classes don't resume for another day, but I was going to head back tomorrow. Why, what's up?"

"We are going to pay our good friend Noah a visit tonight."

* * *

Ember was placing the last few files in the drawer before her lunch break when she heard someone walk up behind her.

"Just a second, Dad, just filing these last few," she said as she thumbed through the folders.

"It's amazing how much work you can get done when you have no boyfriend to snog." a voice drawled.

The sound of Noah's voice hitting her ears made her jump and drop the last file in her hand to the floor.

"What the hell do you want?" she snapped, kneeling down to collect the papers.

He took a few steps closer to her. "Just thought I'd come to say hello," he said with a smirk.

She ignored him and went to grab the last piece of paper when he put his foot over it. She let out a shaky breath to calm her nerves before she looked up at him once more.

"Please move," she said through clenched teeth.

"Make me."

She jumped back up and stood face to face with him. "So now that you can't have me, you're going to try and intimidate me? Because your sick plan for popularity fell through? You're a pig Noah." she said before she flicked her wand to retrieve the paper from under his foot.

She went to turn to leave when he grabbed her upper arm to turn her back to him.

"Maybe we can help each other out?"

"What the hell could you possibly offer that I would find the least bit helpful?" she snarled, her eyes on the firm grip he had on her.

"How about clearing all your sisters to go back to school? And in exchange..."

She just looked at him. "Let me guess, a night together? Fuck you, Noah. How about you get your power-hungry hands off of me and I don't burn you alive?" she hissed as she grabbed his hand to try and pry his fingers off her arm.

He pulled her closer to him, but her instincts started to kick in and her skin beneath his grasp started to burn him. He quickly released her and he just stared at her with a disgusted look.

"Listen Ember, I know I seem like a douche bag and yeah, maybe I am, but I want you to really think about something," he said as he took a step closer to her. "I'm doing you a favor. You should feel relieved that someone is actually willing to go out with you...date you...screw you. Do you think anyone would even look at you twice when you're a freak like your parents? You're a walking inferno, so not only does your last name send guys running for the hill, now you have the baggage of possessing deadly powers. I mean, come on now... you're not really dreamgirl material." he softly said as he gently reached forward and stroked her cheek.

She quickly turned away from his touch before she turned back and gave him a deadly glare. The paper in her hand was suddenly engulfed in flames and she quickly dropped it and tried to put it out.

Before Noah could say another word he saw Draco making his way down the hall. He gave one last look at Ember and walked away.

The last few flames that Ember attempted to put out were soon distinguished when she felt a small icy breeze brush past her as her father approached her. The feel of his powers hitting her made her feel safe as she turned to lock eyes with him.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked her as he saw Noah retreating down the hall.

She just shook her head. "I'm just aggravated, thank for your help," she mumbled as she tried to brush it off.

He looked at her face and could see she didn't want to discuss anything still. "So how about some lunch?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile and nodded.

* * *

"Hey Jake, how is Scorpius doing on his first day?" Ember asked as she and Draco laughed at the thought of Scorpius in an apron serving coffees.

"Actually, he never showed up," Jacob said.

Draco just shook his head. "Please excuse my son, he has better manners than that. It's very out of character for him," he said.

"It's quite alright, there's been a lot going on for you all. I'll give him another day or two to show up, but after that-"

"After that that I will definitely take his place." Ember chimed in.

Jacob just smiled at her. "Of course," he said before he placed the rest of their food down on the table.

Draco's eyes fell on Ember's smile, he could tell the two of them were quite fond of the other. "So Jake, you should come to the Manor for dinner tonight," he suggested.

"Oh, um, are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course, what do you think Ember?"

"Yeah, you should definitely come by." she agreed happily.

"Alright, well thank you for the invite," he said before he walked to the back.

"Why are we inviting Jake over for dinner?" Ember asked.

Draco just shrugged. "He's just a nice kid, plus its nice of him to let your brother keep the job when he didn't even show up. I'm going to kill that boy." Draco mumbled to himself.

They both fell silent for a few moments.

"So Dad, have you and Mum decided what you're going to do about having us be evaluated?"

He gave a hard sigh. "Not yet, she thinks we ourselves should go in first to see what it entails. I don't know, maybe it's not such a bad idea." he looked at her reaction, but there wasn't much of one. "What do you think?"

She looked at him. "Me?"

"Yeah, what are your thoughts on it? They want you and Scorpius to submit to it as well."

She didn't say anything at first as she thought about it. "I don't know Dad, something doesn't seem right about it. It's not fair what the Ministry is doing. How could they keep them from Hogwarts like this? Are you sure Professor McGonagall is doing all she can to get them back there?"

"I'm positive, McGonagall has reminded me of how much we really owe her. If there was something more she could do, believe me, she would do it and then some."

She nodded at his confidence in the Headmistress before Jake made his way back over with fresh coffee for them.

* * *

Ginny welcomed the cool water from the shower as it hit her skin. Her thoughts going back to her and Harper's game of Quidditch from earlier. She smiled to herself at the memory and she was able to forget the fact that she wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts right now.

She was scrubbing her body with soap when she noticed something on her arm. She quickly rinsed her arm off and looked at the vein where the crook of her elbow was. She saw a slight discoloration. It wasn't very noticeable at all, just a small dot where her vein was. She thought back to the dream she had and it was the same spot where she had been injected. Her stomach dropped and she quickly rinsed off and got out of the shower. She threw her bathrobe on and quickly made her way to Ellie's bedroom where she gave a few knocks before poking her head inside.

"Hey sweetie, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Sure, Mum," Ellie said with a smile as Ginny took a seat next to her. "What's up? Are you ok?"

"Of course, baby. Listen, in the hospital after I performed the Hauriendum spell on you... what happened after that?"

Ellie was bothered by the question, Ginny could tell she didn't want to relive that day.

Ginny gently cupped her face and looked at her with a small smile. "Sweetheart, I know how hard that day was for you, but I need to know what happened after."

Ellie gave a small nod. "Well, when it was happening... when you performed the spell, everything was fine at first. After I let out the rest of whatever wave of powers that had surfaced, you... you changed," she said in a small voice as she locked eyes with her mother.

"It's ok, keep going," Ginny reassured her.

"Your eyes were black, your veins...your skin...everything changed. I was scared you might hurt me."

"Oh baby, I would never hurt you," she said, grabbing her into a tight hug.

"You were screaming in pain and then the room was filled with flames...ice. Then you collapsed, I thought you were dead." she choked out as a tear slid down her face.

"It's ok. I'm fine, Ellie... everything is ok now. What about after I fell unconscious, what happened?"

"I don't know, I only remember nurses and doctors running in and they ran to you and then to me. I was really upset and shaken up, some of my powers still surfacing. They gave me a sleeping potion. The only thing I remember seeing before I fell out was you being taken out of the room for them to help you."

"What about when I got back?"

"When I woke up you and Dad were already back."

Ginny just froze, she looked at her arm one more time.

"What's wrong Mum?"

She just looked at Ellie, her eyes wide. "Nothing... everything is fine."

She pulled her into a tight hug again as she started to fear that her dream was actually reality.

* * *

"Hey, Aurora is downstairs looking for you," Harry said as he popped his head into his son's room.

"Oh, thanks."

"James? Something on your mind?" Harry asked. "Thought you were heading back to school today?"

He shrugged. "Just thought I'd hang around for another day or two, just with everything going on."

Harry looked at him for a moment before he nodded. "Alright, well, what are you and Aurora doing tonight?"

"Uh, actually we aren't hanging out tonight."

"Oh? Then where are heading out to tonight?" he asked.

"I'm actually hanging out with Scorpius, he wants to get his mind off some things so I figured we'd chill tonight." he shrugged.

"Odd, but believable, I suppose." Harry joked.

James gave a small laugh. "Dad, are you implying that I'm up to no good?"

"Of course not... not a Potter."

James just shook his head with a small laugh. "See ya later, Dad," he said before he headed downstairs.

He saw Aurora waiting for him at the front door.

"Hello James, I thought since you'll be headed back to school soon we could hang out. There's no Astronomy tower, but I'm sure we could manage something," she said with a light giggle.

He just smiled at her. He wasn't sure how he would handle not having Aurora at school with him. She was his favorite part of every day and now he had nothing to look forward to anymore.

"I wish I could hang out Aurora, but I actually have plans with your brother."

"With Scorpius? Like what?" she laughed.

"Just guy stuff, he needs a friend right now and I already told him I'd meet up with him. I'm sorry." he felt guilty for having to turn her down.

All he could think about was what Scorpius told him about Noah and what he did to Ember. How he treated her and his intents, he couldn't even think about how he would feel if something like that ever happened to Aurora.

"It's alright, I understand. Maybe we could try and see each other a bit tomorrow?" she suggested.

"Definitely."

He went to walk out of the house when he stopped and turned to face her again. "I'm really sorry, Aurora," he said before he placed a light kiss on her cheek and then left.

* * *

"Thank you again for having me over for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Jake said.

"Of course, it was so nice of you to offer Scorpius a position, I'm so sorry he didn't show up. I'm not even sure I know where he is right now." Ginny explained.

"He's out with James." Aurora chimed in.

"Potter? That's odd." Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's no worries, honestly, it's been a rough few days for you folks, so it's understandable," Jake reassured them.

"We appreciate that," Ginny said.

She looked down at the vein in her arm, she could see some of them starting to darken. She was starting to feel some discomfort from it but pushed it aside until after dinner.

"Are you ok?" Draco leaned over and whispered to her.

She nodded as she turned to look at him. "Yes, just a little tired."

They both turned to Jake and Ember getting lost in conversation across the table and watched them for a moment. Ember was laughing at some of the things he said, they were quite sweet together.

"He is so much better than Noah, gosh, I hope she dumps his arse," Ginny whispered to him.

"I think it might be sooner than you think. They've been arguing." Draco said.

"Ah, interesting," Ginny said with a smirk.

"So Jake, tell me about your parents. What do they do for a living?" Draco asked.

"Well, my mother is a waitress at another diner in Diagon Alley and I never met my father."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Ginny said with a sad smile.

"It's quite alright, regardless of the not so nice man my mother has told me him to be, I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to meet him," he said, more to himself than them.

He glanced at Ember and she gave him a small smile.

"Is he still alive? I'm sure I could find out something for you on him." Draco offered.

"I don't know if he is alive or dead, but any information would be appreciated."

"Of course, it's the least we could do. Hermione would probably be better at digging up the info on him. What's the name?" Draco asked.

"Warren, Peter Warren I believe."

Ginny's heart felt like it stopped and she completely froze; her eyes went wide. Her mind pulled her back all those years ago to that office where some of the worst memories of her life took place. She didn't realize she had stopped breathing until she took in a sharp breath of air.

"Gin?"

She heard Draco call to her and she turned to look at him. She wasn't aware of the tears in her eyes until she felt one slide down her face.

"Excuse me," she choked out before she got up and quickly left the room.

She could feel her blood bubbling beneath her skin, a burning sensation like she had never felt before. She was sure she would explode into a wave of flames at any moment, but she desperately tried to keep her cool. She felt the same pain running through her that day in the hospital with Ellie, but not as severe. She feared what would come about if she didn't calm herself down soon.

She threw her bedroom door open and started pacing as she mentally searched for anything to keep her emotions leveled. If what she remembered from that hospital room was true and she really did have some sort of trigger inside of her, then she needed to keep her head. She glanced at the vein in her arm that seemed to have darkened and spread even more.

"Ginny?"

She turned to see Draco in the doorway, his face held concern for her emotional state at the mention of Warren's name. He grabbed her into his arms and held her tightly and she could feel herself start to relax against him.

He could feel the heat rising in her body when she looked at him.

"Some help?" she asked, her voice cracking.

He nodded before she hugged him tightly once more. She felt his touch turn cold, her body covered in goosebumps as the heat in her body started to subside. She let out a shiver and then the coldness became warm once more, but it was a comforting warmth. She looked at him, his eyes piercing into hers as he tried to read her mind.

"Warren's son is sitting down in our dining room." she suddenly said.

"I know Gin... I know."

* * *

Scorpius continued to walk with a clear motive on his mind. His face twisted in rage and his anger only building as he walked up to Noah's house. He stopped at the end of a long cobblestone path leading up to the house and got lost in the conversation he and Ember had again.

"So what's the plan? We're just talking to this guy? Threatening him a bit?" James asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Scorpius said as he made his way up the path.

"What if his father is home?"

"He's not, he left earlier."

"Earlier? What were you doing here earlier?"

He didn't answer and James became slightly concerned when he saw the look on Scorpius' face. Scorpius walked up the door and checked to see if it was unlocked. He tried a simple unlocking spell and it didn't work. He grabbed the doorknob and started to freeze the handle until he was sure it froze the entire lock.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't break into someone's house, especially a Ministry Official!" James exclaimed.

Scorpius didn't seem to take in anything James had to say, he just wanted to hurt Noah. After a few attempts at trying to slam the door open with his body, he could hear Noah inside cursing up a storm.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are trying to break into my home!" he yelled as he came down the stairs.

Scorpius brought his foot up and kicked the door as hard as he could in and it flung open so hard it made Noah jump back.

"Good evening Noah," Scorpius said, an evil smirk on his face.

"How dare you, get the hell out of my house," he ordered as he grabbed his wand and threw a spell at him.

Scorpius dodged it with little effort. Noah went to run back upstairs when James threw a binding spell at him.

"Now what?" James asked.

Scorpius walked up to Noah and grabbed him by the throat and threw him up against the wall. He swung his fist at his face so hard his body slid down the wall.

Noah spit out a mouthful of blood before a light laugh escaped his mouth. "What do you want me to do, apologize to your sister?" he continued to laugh. "The only thing I'm sorry for is not trying my luck with Aurora instead."

Before Scorpius could hit him again, it was James who kicked him hard in the face, his own rage surfacing now.

"Alright, alright." Noah groaned out as he spit another mouthful of blood out. "I get it, no more playing with your sisters," he said, still some amusement in his voice as he wiped his bloody nose with his sleeve as he stood back up.

Scorpius grabbed him by the throat again. "No, I don't think you do get it. I want to make sure it's drilled in that tiny mind of yours." He said menacingly as his fist covered in ice and he brought it back once more and punched him again.

Noah fell to the ground, a large gash was on his head as blood poured from it.

"Scorpius, enough," James said.

Scorpius didn't hear him, he wouldn't let himself be distracted, he wanted Noah to pay. He grabbed Noah's limp body that was fighting to stay conscious and swung his icy fist at him again. Noah was knocked out at this point, but Scorpius didn't stop, he just kept hitting him.

"SCORPIUS, STOP!" James yelled, attempting to grab him off of Noah.

Scorpius shoved him hard backward before he started hitting Noah again, his fist and clothes covered in blood.

"Scorpius you're going to kill him, stop it. We just came here to scare him... NOW STOP!"

Again he ran over to Scorpius and tried to push him off, but this time Scorpius threw a ball of ice at him that knocked him to the floor. James was in disbelief that Scorpius would ever use his powers on him like that. He knew he wasn't in the right state of mind right now and he was worried about him. He became even more worried when he felt his own powers surfacing as he watched Scorpius attempt to hit Noah once more. Without thinking he released an electrical shock that hit Scorpius right in the back. He heard him yell out in pain and he tried to let up on the force of his powers but he had trouble doing so.

He finally regained control again when he saw Scorpius fall to the floor beside Noah. James stood there in shock for a moment, his heart racing. He wasn't sure if either of them were alive at this point. He quickly went to run to Scorpius' side and slipped on something wet realizing it was a puddle of Noah's blood that was gushing from his head.

"Scorpius! Wake up!" he shouted, giving him a hard shake.

He leaned down to listen for a pulse or anything to assure him that he didn't accidentally kill his friend. When he heard and felt nothing, his stomach dropped. He attempted to shake him awake again when his hands released an electrical shock against Scorpius' body. He jumped back at the unexpected electricity that still ran through him, but he felt a wave of relief when he heard Scorpius take in a sharp breath of air before he fell unconscious.

James just sat there in silence for a moment, he couldn't even begin to register what happened. How fast control over the situation was completely lost. He took one last look at Noah's beaten body, then grabbed Scorpius and apparated back to his house.

As soon as his feet hit the floor of his bedroom he could hear someone making their way upstairs to his bedroom.

"James! Is that you?" Luna called out as she went to open his bedroom door.

He sprinted across the room and slammed the door shut again before she could open it all the way.

"James? What's going on?"

"Nothing, Mum, I'm just changing."

There was a pause for a moment.

"Well, you've had me worried sick, where were you? It's almost midnight."

"I was with Scorpius still... we...were at a party." he cursed himself for the lame lie he told his mother.

"A party?"

"Yes, Mum, a party, now can I please change in peace?" he snapped.

She was quiet for a moment. "Alright, I love you," Luna said softly through the door.

Hearing those words from his mother right now brought whatever tears that stung his eyes to finally fall. He had never witnessed anything so brutal before and then to almost kill his friend with a power he thought he had control over scared him. He thought of what happened with Ellie at the party and started questioning everything he knew about this supposed gift he possessed. Then he wasn't even sure if Noah was alive or dead, he had never seen Scorpius like this before, he didn't think the young man had anger in him like what he saw tonight.

He covered his mouth to quiet the cries that dared to escape and tried to compose himself. "I love you too Mum." he choked out as best as he could before he finally heard her walk away.

He laid his head back against his bedroom door before he slid down to the floor in a fit of sobs.

* * *

An unbearable pain filled his head, he could feel the throbbing behind his eyes as he fought to open them up. He cracked them a bit to see the sunlight hitting the wall above his head. He suddenly jolted up and was confused and disoriented as he looked around the room until his eyes fell on James.

Scorpius grabbed his head and let out a soft groan as a sharp pain ran through it again. "What the hell happened to me? I feel like I got hit by a Bludger," he said through his heavy breathing.

James just looked at him, he was grateful that Scorpius didn't remember seeing his powers.

"I hit you with a knockout jinx... you were out of control," he said, his tone calm.

Memories of last night finally filled Scorpius' mind and he fell silent... they both did.

"I should go," Scorpius said suddenly as he went to stand up and then dropped to his knees as the room started spinning. "In a minute," he added as he waited for the dizziness to pass.

"Here, eat that," James said, tossing a piece of chocolate to him.

He bit a tiny piece off before he looked up at James and just shook his head in disbelief at what happened last night. "Is he-"

"Dead? I don't know, I just grabbed you and apparated out of there before anyone showed up."

Scorpius sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands through his hair, his own tears stinging his eyes as the realization of what he did set in. The possibility that he may have killed someone made him want to throw up.

"I have to go," he quickly said before he broke down in front of James.

"Scorpius-"

"I'm sorry you got wrapped up in this... I'll talk to you later," he said before he apparated back to the Manor.

* * *

Scorpius was barely through the front door when both of his parents were before him.

"Where the hell were you all night? It's nine in the morning, what happened to you?" Draco demanded, taking in his son's rough appearance.

He was silent all of a sudden, he couldn't think of any words at all, his mind only on the young man that he beat to death or close to.

"I... I was out with James... at a party." he finally settled on.

"A party? With James? Harry said James came home about midnight, so where were you?" Ginny ordered.

"What happened to your hand?" Draco asked.

Scorpius looked at his right hand to see it bandaged up and his heart dropped. "Yes, James and I was at a party and he left before I did. We drank a bit and I cut my hand on some broken glass somehow and just crashed at a friend's place... that's all." he quickly said, trying his best to play the part.

"I don't want you out all night long like that without letting us know where you're going to be," Ginny said firmly.

He nodded. "I'm sorry I worried you. It won't happen again."

He was relieved when his mother hugged him tightly, but he could see his father didn't completely buy his story but left it alone for now.

Scorpius went to walk upstairs when Draco called to him.

"Hang on, before you head upstairs to sleep your hangover off; your mother and I need to talk to you and Ember." he gestured for him to join them in the dining room.

Scorpius walked into the dining room and took a seat beside Ember who reached forward and ruffled his already messy hair.

"Looks like someone had a wild night." she teased him, unaware of where he really was and what he really did.

He just looked at her with a half smile before he turned his attention to his parents across from them.

"So what's going on Dad?" Ember asked.

Draco let out a hard sigh before he started. "Noah is in the hospital, someone broke into their house yesterday and attacked him."

Scorpius' stomach dropped, he knew for a fact he would vomit everywhere at any moment at the news about Noah. The fact that his father knew already meant the Ministry knew and he couldn't even begin to think about how his parents would react to what he did. He took a quick glance at Ember who was looking right at him, her eyes wide.

He broke eye contact with her and turned back to his parents. "Is he going to be ok?"

Ginny just shook her head. "We don't know yet, he's in a coma... it was quite a brutal attack," she said softly.

"Do they know who did it?" Ember asked, tears falling down her face.

"No, not yet. The Adwells don't really have enemies like that. The only luck we might have is that Mr. Adwell has some really highly secured wards up around their home. So we're going to see if they picked up anything. There was also a housekeeper in the home at the time, she is being questioned now, but she didn't see much as she was hiding in one of the hall closets. It had to have been someone who they didn't seem to be threatened by since they were able to walk through their wards."

Scorpius jumped out of his seat when he tasted the bile rising in his throat as he sprinted upstairs to the bathroom.

Ember stared after him, her tears still flowing freely down her face.

"Ember? I'm so sorry sweetie. Do you want to go see him?" Ginny asked, as she got up and took a seat beside her.

She just shook her head. "I don't know." was all she could manage to say.

"Well, just let us know and we could go with you if you'd like," Ginny said before she pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Scorpius rinsed his mouth out before he walked into his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed. He was appalled by his actions, sure Noah definitely had a beating coming to him, but to almost kill him? He could very well not pull through with the current condition he's in, which made tears start to sting his eyes, not for Noah, but for what he had done. He suddenly felt someone's eyes on him and he looked in his doorway to see Ember standing there, her face stained with tears.

"What did you do?" she whispered out.

He just stared at her.

She walked into his room and closed the door and then strode right up to him. "What did you do Scorpius?" she asked louder.

He just shook his head before he dropped his gaze from hers.

She grabbed his face in her hands. "What did you do Scorpius?" she cried out. "Tell me you didn't do that... please tell me that wasn't you." she sobbed hysterically, her hands shaking against his face.

He tried so hard to keep his own emotions in, his tears back, but seeing her so upset after trying to protect her made his heart break. He broke down in front of her, his own tears sliding beneath her hands that cupped his face. She pulled him into a hug, she was scared for him, her heart physically ached for him. She knew why he did, but she never thought he'd go so far.

"I lost control." he muffled out against her body.

She pulled back to look at him.

"Of my powers... I lost control... it took over me," he said.

She didn't say anything, she just pulled him to her once more. Scorpius never lost control, everything he did was perfect. This is what she always thought anyway and now to see him like this was hard. What happened to their lives in the last couple of weeks that turned everything upside down? She felt fresh tears fill her eyes as she just held him tighter against her and let them fall.

* * *

Ginny walked into Ava's room as she woke up from her nap and smiled down at the fussing toddler.

"Alright my love, I'm coming," she said as she picked her up.

She snuggled her up into a hug making her giggle and then she started fussing again and wanted out of Ginny's arms.

"Well, hold on now, you need a diaper change silly," she said, laying her down.

She kept crying loudly as Ginny changed her, kicking her feet and trying to scoot away.

"I see your nap did you no good. Maybe you're just having a rough day?" she said to her with a small smile before she scooped her back up and kissed her cheek.

She let out a loud cry as she tried to push her away, making Ginny let her go and just look at her for a moment.

"What's wrong with you?" she said to herself.

Ava was perfectly fine now, but as soon as Ginny went to give her little thigh a squeeze she started crying again. Ginny pulled her hand away and then looked at Ava and then at her hands before she shook her head.

"No." she whispered out.

She looked at the vein in the middle of her arm and let out a small gasp as she saw it had spread a little up and down her arm. She then realized her hands were burning Ava and her heart started to race.

"AURORA!" she called out.

After a few moments, Aurora came walking into Ava's room. "Yes, Mum?"

"Take your sister please, I'm not feeling too good, can you just keep an eye on her for a little while?"

"Sure," she said as she scooped Ava up in her arms.

Ginny quickly made her way to her bedroom and went into the medicine cabinet, by the time she got to the bathroom her eyes turned black and flames started to dance throughout her hair. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might explode and the pain she started experiencing was becoming unbearable. She grabbed a sedation Potion and quickly drank it, hoping it worked to calm her down.

She watched the growing flames around her die down and her black eyes return to normal before she walked over to the couch and sat down. She started thinking back to the day in the hospital again. She knew it wasn't a dream, there was no misunderstanding anymore, everything was crystal clear. Someone injected her with something that was going to make her lose control eventually and that scared her to death.

 **A/N: OK, so a LOT of information in this chapter. I must know what you are all thinking? Scorpius and James attack on Noah? Finding out who Jake's father is? Ginny's transformation? What do you guys have to say?**

 **Also, I know a lot of people agree that Noah definitely deserved a beat down, but the reaction James and Scorpius has to the aftermath I wanted to feel real and they aren't use to a life like the ones their parents lived 17yrs ago. Hopefully it was written well enough for you guys to feel the emotion.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support. Please Review! =D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to post. Hope you all are enjoying the story so far. If you are, please leave a comment about your thoughts so far =)**

 **If you haven't already done so, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

"Mum? Mum, wake up."

Ginny cracked her eyes open a bit to see Riley standing over her.

"Hey sweetie," she said as she pulled herself up.

She noticed she had fallen asleep on the couch in her bedroom and then looked at the clock on the wall.

"Geez, it's six already, I have to start dinner," she said as she went to get up.

"It's already done," said Riley with a smile.

"What? Dinner is done?"

"Yeah, Dad came home from work and saw you were sleeping so we made dinner for a change."

Ginny gave her a bright smile before she pulled her into a hug. "We better get down to dinner then."

"Are you sick Mum?" Riley asked.

"No, why sweetie?"

"You just... look sick." she shrugged before she headed downstairs.

Ginny walked over to the mirror and took in her appearance before she closed her eyes tightly at the sight before her. She had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was paler than normal. Around her eyes were all puffy and her pupils a shade darker. She put some makeup on and a few concealment charms for now until she figured out what was going on with her body.

She went to head downstairs when she almost ran right into Draco.

"Oh hey, I was just coming down. I'm sorry I fell asleep, I-"

She was cut off when he pulled her into a kiss. She felt her body completely melt in his arms as the taste of his lips seemed to intoxicate her. Every time he kissed her it was so easy to get completely lost in the moment.

"Stop apologizing," he said quietly against her lips before he covered her mouth with his again.

She could feel herself falling deeper and deeper into an unfamiliar place and the thought of possibly losing control made her pull back from the kiss.

"Riley said you made dinner?" she asked.

"Well, I'm no Molly Weasley, but I've learned a thing or two over the years from you and your mother," he said smugly.

"Well, let's go find out," she said with a small giggle before they both headed downstairs.

* * *

Dinner that night was completely silent, nobody spoke a word. Scorpius and Ember barely ate a thing and Harper just stuffed her face as fast as she could so she could get back to flying.

Ginny dropped her fork loudly on her plate making everyone at the table look up at her.

"Listen, guys, I know things are going pretty shitty for us right now. It's been one thing after another and I'm so sorry you all have to go through it. However, with all of that being said I want you guys to try and get back to some kind of normal life again until we figure things out. So that means, Scorpius and Ember, I want you both at work tomorrow and the rest of you I will homeschool in the meantime until we figure things out with McGonagall and Kingsley. Understood?"

They all nodded.

She glanced at Draco, who gave her a supportive smile before he reached forward and gave her hand a light squeeze.

They all started clearing out of the dining room and Draco got up at the sound of the doorbell ringing and answered it.

"Potter," Draco said with a sneer.

"Mr. Malfoy... I just wanted-"

"Aurora!" Draco called behind him before she climbed the steps to her bedroom. "Your buddy is here," he said before he turned back to James.

James locked eyes with Scorpius from the doorway who was at the top of the stairs before he broke the gaze when he felt Draco staring at him.

"You look a bit rough kid, too much partying?" Draco drawled taking in James' disheveled look and the bags under his eyes.

James just stared at him, for some reason words wouldn't form enough to give a response. Draco raised an eyebrow at this before he turned to leave once Aurora approached them.

"Hey, James," Aurora said happily.

"Hey, can we talk for a few?"

"Of course," she said, gesturing for him to follow her upstairs.

"LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN!" Draco called up to them.

* * *

"James?"

He snapped his head up to look at her.

"You said you wanted to talk, but you haven't said a word for almost five minutes now. Is everything ok?" Aurora asked with a small smile as she took a seat beside him.

"Uh, I'm sorry we never hung out today like I said we would. I just... had some stuff going on."

"It's alright, why do you always feel like you have to apologize. We're friends, I get it, life gets in the way," she said with a shrug.

She placed a hand on his thigh and looked into his eyes; she could tell something was off. "James, you would tell me if there was something else going on, right?"

He stared at her hand on his leg and then back up at her. He got up from the couch in an attempt to casually avoid her touching him.

"Of course."

"Well, you seem very distracted. Do you want to go for a walk or something?"

He looked at her again, her bright blue eyes piercing into his. He started to panic when she took a few steps towards him and before he could back away, she pulled him into a tight hug.

"You're kind of worrying me. I've never seen you like this before," she said against his chest.

He took in her scent and the feel of her skin against his, making him hug her back. He missed her, he missed their hang out sessions and mostly, he missed working at trying to form a relationship with her. Now everything was different, he almost killed her brother the other night because he couldn't handle his powers and then the incident with Noah was weighing on his mind. The memory of washing Noah's blood from his hands and clothes ran through his head and his whole body went stiff. He could feel the electricity in him surfacing as he grew emotional over the recent events.

"I have to go." he quickly said, walking out of the bedroom.

"Oh, well... bye, I guess," she said in a small voice as she watched him leave her bedroom.

James strode down the hall as fast as he could before he fell apart, tears already stinging his eyes. He quickly wiped any that threatened to fall roughly from his eyes and took the steps two at a time towards the front door.

He was walking so fast he almost slammed right into Draco.

"Whoa, Potter, watch yourself. That was a quick visit, all done slapping lips with my daughter?"

James just shook his head. "Whatever."

"Hold up," Draco said, grabbing his arm to stop him and pulled him back into his view. "What's going on?" he asked, he could see James was upset.

James just looked at him for a few moments contemplating about whether he should tell him about anything. He just shook his head; his eyes welled with tears at this point. He felt Draco grab him by his shirt and drag him into the living room to give them some privacy.

"What's going on, Kid?" Draco asked again, he could tell James was trying to decide on whether or not to open up to him.

He could also see he was struggling to not fall apart in front of him, after all, it's not like they had the greatest relationship.

James looked up at him as he wiped a few of his tears away with his sleeve. "I... almost killed him." he choked out.

"What? Almost killed who?" Draco asked with a look of surprise on his face at James' words.

James ran his hand wildly through his hair before he composed himself enough to speak again. "Scorpius."

"What do you mean you almost killed him? When? How?"

James wiped his eyes quickly and looked at Draco again. "I want to show you, but I'm afraid to hurt someone."

Draco was confused at first, but when he felt the hairs on his arm and neck stand up and the lamp in the room start to flicker his eyes grew wide.

"James? Do you have powers?" he calmly asked.

James slowly held out his hand in a tight fist, he was afraid to open it at first. He slowly started to relax his hand as he opened it all the way and watched the thin streams of electricity dance across the room. Suddenly, Draco flinched when every light bulb in the living room popped and the room went dark.

After a few moments, the room lit back up with the help of James' abilities. Draco just stared at him before a small smirk crossed his face.

"Have you told your dad?"

"Hell no, he wouldn't understand," James said.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration over the situation. He knew Harry had his reasons for not mentioning his powers, but James needed him more than he knew right now.

"You need to tell him, he will understand, I promise." Draco tried to persuade him.

James just shook his head. "I should go," he said before he went to leave.

"Wait." Draco gently grabbed his shoulders and looked at him.

Sure, he hated him when it came to his affection for his daughter, but otherwise, James was practically his family and he would do anything for Harry and Luna's kids that he would for his own.

"James, what were you and Scorpius doing when this all happened?"

James pushed past him, the memory of Noah's attack made his stomach twist into a knot. He couldn't think about it without wanting to break down or throw his guts up from how disgusted he was with his and Scorpius' actions.

"I have to go."

"James? James!" Draco called after him as he ran from the Manor.

After a moment when he realized he wasn't coming back, he let out a hard sigh and headed upstairs.

* * *

Ginny was brushing her teeth while her mind was swimming with memories from her waking up in that hospital bed. She desperately tried to remember something from it during her dazed episode. She rinsed her mouth out and then saw a small dot of red hit the porcelain sink. She slid her tongue across her gums to see if she tasted any blood, but when she didn't she looked in the mirror to see her nose bleeding.

Her heart stopped for a second and she quickly grabbed a rag and brought it up to her face. She heard Draco enter the room and quickly cleaned her face and the sink before she was sure all blood flow from her nose had stopped.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked him as she peeked her head out of the bathroom to see him in deep thought.

He looked up at her. "James has Harry's powers."

"What?" she said, walking out of the bathroom to make sure she heard him correctly.

"Yeah, he just showed me. He also almost killed our son the other night when he lost control of them."

"What!" she said again, making a move to go check on Scorpius when Draco stopped her.

"He's fine, believe me. What I'm more curious about is what the hell happened that got things to get to that point in the first place. I tried to ask James but he looked too scared to say and stormed off."

Ginny just stared at him for a moment. "Should we tell Harry?"

"Let's give James some time to do that, but... he needs some guidance. You know how Harry feels about his powers so I'm not sure how he'll respond to this."

"Let's just make sure we check in on him them until he's ready to say something because... that's an overwhelming secret to keep to himself. Especially he has no understanding of why he would develop such an ability." Ginny sighed.

Draco gave her a small nod before he pulled her into a hug. They turned their attention to the knock on the door where Ember poked her head in.

"Mum... Dad, I need to tell you something," she said.

They both exchanged a quick look.

"Wow, our daughter is willingly going to tell us something, this night is just full of surprises." Draco drawled with a slight smirk on his face.

His face turned serious when he saw Ember wipe a few tears from her face.

"Ember, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked, he sensed what she was about to tell them was bad.

Ember just looked at them, her lips trembling. She threw her arms around her dad and latched onto him as she cried.

"The night before Noah was hurt... he tried to force himself on me." she cried out.

Draco pulled back a bit to look at her, his eyes filled with rage. He couldn't even form words because he was so angry that his daughter was put in the position she was in. He felt Ginny pull her from his arms into hers and she asked her if she was ok and some other things he couldn't make out as he thought about the state Noah was in right now.

"Ember, did you tell Scorpius about this?" Draco asked her suddenly as his mind tried to piece everything together.

She just looked at him, her eyes spilling tears as she nodded. "I was angry at him... I wanted him to pay for what he did... I never meant for him to end up like this." she cried harder against her mother's chest.

Ginny just looked at Draco. "What are you thinking, Draco? What is it?"

"I think it's time I got some more details about this supposed party our son attended the other night."

* * *

He just stood there in the doorway, looking at the young man before him. He was hooked up to all different kinds of machines. He took a few steps forward and realized that the man was unrecognizable. Scorpius looked down at Noah's wristband just to make sure he was in the right room and when he confirmed it he felt this overwhelming sense of guilt. He wanted Noah to get what he deserved, but he was more bothered by the fact that he himself was capable of something so brutal.

He knew his parents had a very different experience at his age. They were used to living each day in survival mode, but he... his sisters... James, they weren't used to it. The world was a lot different seventeen years ago, so different that he often wondered how his parents survived through it all.

"Scorpius?"

He jumped at the sound of his name and saw Raven standing behind him.

"Raven, what are you doing here?" he asked, although he knew why already he just couldn't think of anything else to ask from her startling him.

"I'm an intern, remember? It's part of my healer training?" she said with a small laugh.

"Of course," he said as he stepped out into the hall. "So, uh, how have you been?"

"I'm good... I miss you," she said softly, fidgeting with her hands before she glanced over at him.

"Yeah, I miss you too."

They were both silent for a few moments.

"So, maybe we could chill later?" she asked with a small smile.

He locked eyes with her for a moment. He didn't realize how much he missed her until he was staring into her eyes. He turned back to Noah, who was lying near dear in the room behind him.

"Um, I can't tonight," he said, regretting it immediately when he saw the disappointed look on her face.

She nodded. "Well, maybe some other time then?"

"Yeah, sure."

She took a step forward to kiss him, but for some reason, his entire body stiffened at her touch. His thoughts were only on the brutal beating he brought down on the man behind him. He could tell she sensed this and instead she placed a soft kiss on his cheek before she turned and left.

Scorpius turned to take one last look at Noah before he apparated back home.

* * *

"Hey, Dad?"

Harry looked up at James as he placed the rest of his files back in his bag before he threw it over his shoulder.

"Hey, you all packed? I have to get to a meeting with Kingsley and the new Minster right after I see you off," he said.

"Um, actually I don't think I'm going to head back today. Would it be cool if I just stayed home a few extra days, maybe just head back next week?"

Harry stopped what he was doing to look at him, something was off. "What's going on? You love school and you're choosing to stay home for another week on your own?" he said with a smirk. "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" he teased.

James just gave a small smile. "I know, I just... I just need a few more days before I head back." he tried to explain without having to get detailed.

Harry was unconvinced but nodded at his request. "I'll reach out to McGonagall, I'm sure it shouldn't be an issue."

James gave a small nod of thanks and went to leave when Harry stopped him.

"Is everything ok? You look down; maybe you should accompany your mother to Diagon Alley today and get out of the house for a bit? You know Bella loves her big brother being around."

James nodded once more before he left his father's bedroom.

* * *

"Ember?"

She finally snapped out of her daze after he called her for the third time.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked her.

"Oh yes, sorry. Thank you," she said, taking the coffee from him.

Jake took a seat across from her at the table. "I know you have to get to work soon, but would you mind if I talked to you real quick?"

"Of course you can," she said with a smile.

"I know you're going through a lot right now with what happened with Noah and your family stuff. Now originally I really would have loved to ask you on a date, but I thought maybe we could hang out as friends tonight? Maybe get your mind off of some things?" he suggested.

Ember bit her lip as a slight blush came to her cheeks. She didn't say anything at first.

"It's quite alright if you don't want to," he reassured her, getting back up.

"No, no, it's not that... I just..." she started to become lost in all the drama that was her life these past few weeks and quickly steered her mind back to the current conversation. "Yes, I think I could use a friend tonight," she said.

"Really?" he asked, surprised that she agreed.

She nodded happily.

"Awesome, I will... see you tonight then... seven?" he asked, walking backward to the kitchen.

She nodded again and then giggled when he bumped into a chair before he turned around and practically skipped to the back.

* * *

Draco tossed the handful of files he had on the desk in his office in frustration. "Kingsley's insane if he thinks this Beckett guy will come close to being as good of a Minister as he was." he drawled, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Pft, tell me about it. I swore if he recited one last Wizarding Law to me I was going to snap." Harry sighed before they shared a small laugh.

The room grew quiet as Harry started sorting through the files they brought to the meeting and started filing them once more.

"So, uh... how's James? Did he happen to talk to you last night?" Draco pried a bit.

"Actually, he talked to me this morning," Harry said as he continued sliding each folder into the file cabinet.

"He did?" Draco asked; surprised that James opened up to his father about his powers.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, no reason. So... what do you think about that?"

Harry just shrugged. "I mean, I understand... I was surprised at first, but... hold on, why would he talk to you about that?"

Draco just sighed before he gave a slight shrug. "I don't know, maybe it's because he thinks he can relate to me more than you... you know, given the situation."

Harry just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Given what situation?"

Draco saw the confusion on his face. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about James saying he wants to stay home from school for another week. What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

"Draco?"

"I'm not saying anything, it's not my place... that's all you," he said holding his hands up.

Harry started thinking about what else he was referring to. "Let's see, he was hanging out with Scorpius the other night, which was off in the first place because they aren't friends like that. Wait, he didn't almost get a girl pregnant too, did he?" Harry asked with concern on his face.

"Well, since he hangs out around my daughter, I sure hope for his sake, not." Draco drawled.

They were both pulled from their conversation when there was a knock on the door.

"Dad?" came Ember's voice before she walked inside.

"Hey, what's up? Is it lunchtime already?" Draco asked, looking at his watch.

"No, I was just approached by the new Minister. He said I have three days to turn myself in for evaluation or I'll be fired and escorted there by Aurors," she said, wrapping her arms around herself at the uncomfortable feeling she got from Beckett.

Draco pulled her into a comforting hug. "You ok?"

She nodded. "What should I do?"

"Well, we have three days to figure it out," he said. "Why don't we take an early lunch, go head down and I'll meet you there."

She gave another nod before she left his office.

Harry watched Draco rub his face and then run his hand through his hair in frustration. He could tell he wasn't sure what the best option was right now and he felt for him, Ginny and the kids.

"How's Ginny doing? You know... with all of this?"

Draco just shook his head. "She's trying to hide it, how scared she is for the kids. You know that Jake kid? We just found out he's Warren's son."

"What! You're kidding?"

"I wish; what's the chances, right? I thought for sure Ginny was going to blow up... literally explode and take the entire Manor down with her." Draco sighed. "And then..."

"Then what?"

Draco's mind was on Scorpius and what he knew to be the real truth of what probably went down that night at Noah's. He couldn't help but feel that James was with Scorpius that night, but he didn't want to tell Harry until he was positive.

"I'm going to lunch," he said and quickly left the office before Harry could pry further.

* * *

Ginny gave three hard knocks on the office door as she impatiently waited for an answer. Her body temperature rising the longer she waited. The door opened and she just stared up at the man, her expression turning angry before she pushed past him and walked into the office.

"Mrs. Malfoy, how can I help you?" Robert Adwell said.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, her voice calm but cracking with emotion. Her body trembled with anger and fear of what ran through her veins.

"I beg your pardon?"

"At the hospital, I woke up in this room and someone was there and they injected me with something," she explained, pacing the room as she tried to remember that day as clear as possible.

"And you believe I was the one who did this? May I ask why you would accuse me of-"

"Oh please, you and your brother live for this kind of shit. You just want your own collection of guinea pigs and you're trying to force me to snap so they'll lock me up in your science lab," she stated angrily, a lump forming in her throat as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

"Mrs. Malfoy you seem rather riled up, can I get you a drink or something?" he asked, trying to calm her down.

"Yeah, right, why so you can drug me again and take a blood sample?" she fumed.

"Mrs. Malfoy, you do realize my nephew is lying near death in the hospital right now? Having you storm into my office and accuse me of such things does not sit well with me. Now I am sorry you seem to be going through something and I am more than happy to set up an appointment if you'd like so I-"

He stopped talking when Ginny started laughing. "Are you kidding me? I will never let you near me or my family." she hissed, turning to leave before she stopped and turned back to him. "And by the way, your nephew is a sick, twisted pig who tried to force himself on my daughter." she took a step closer to him, her face filled with rage and her eyes black as night. "If and when he does pull through, you better hope he stays clear of me and my family or I'll personally melt the balls off of that little sack of shit."

She turned on her heel and stormed from his office, slamming the door hard behind her.

* * *

Ginny tried with everything in her to calm herself down. She could feel the fire tingling beneath her skin since she left Adwell's office. She was applying concealing charms on herself multiple times a day now and it was all becoming a bit too much to handle. She needed to sit and talk with Draco, but with everything going on and the amount of stress they were both under; she didn't think adding something else would help anyone.

"Hey, dinner is just about ready," she called to Ember who was walking past the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm not eating at home tonight."

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"Jake is going to come pick me up and we are going to chill for a bit." she shrugged.

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut tightly to hold back any anger that threatened to erupt from her.

"I don't want you hanging out with Jacob." she calmly said.

Ember just gave a small laugh. "Pft ok," she said with amusement as she made her way upstairs with Ginny on her heels.

"I'm serious, we don't know him well enough for you to go out with him."

"Go out with who?" Draco asked as he met them in the hall on his way downstairs.

"Jake, Mum doesn't want me hanging out with him suddenly."

Draco just looked at Ginny for a moment; he knew it was because he was Warren's son. "Gin, we just gave him permission to take Ember out the other day. It's fine, let her go," he said softly to her.

"Yes, but that was before we knew who his father was." Ginny snapped, her anger rising.

"Are you serious? Who cares about his father, he doesn't even know the guy. I'm going out whether you like it or not." Ember stated, ignoring her mother's request.

"EMBER, I FORBID YOU TO SEE THAT BOY!" Ginny screamed suddenly.

Ember just looked at her mother in surprise; she didn't expect this reaction from her.

"You forbid me? I'm not a child, Mother."

Ginny felt Draco gently grab her arm as she went to keep following Ember. "Gin, relax," he whispered to her.

She ripped her arm from his grasp as soon as he touched her. "Ember that boy's father was a horrible man, he was monster." she went on, desperately trying to make Ember understand.

"So, because his father was a monster that makes him one?" Ember asked in disbelief.

"YES!" Ginny screamed without thinking, her mind only on what Warren did to her so long ago.

"DAD'S FATHER WAS A MONSTER; DOES THAT MAKE HIM ONE TOO?" Ember yelled back.

Ginny froze; she couldn't believe the words that left her mouth. She watched Ember storm off before she felt Draco gently place a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, she felt horrible for insinuating anything about Draco being like his father. She felt so guilty, she backed away from his touch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." she quickly whispered before she took off down the hall and slammed her bedroom door shut.

It wasn't long before Draco was closing the door behind him as he followed her into their bedroom.

"Ginny, hey, I know you didn't mean that. You think I gave that a second thought?" he said to her as he grabbed her into a hug.

She started crying and gently pushed him back and took a few steps back. "Draco, there's something wrong with me." she choked out.

"What are you talking about? That whole thing with Jake is understandable-"

"No, not that." she cried.

She looked down at the floor, she felt guilty for keeping something like this from him.

"I've been hiding something from you."

Draco's heart sank at the many possibilities that it could be.

"Ginny, what's going on?" he asked, his heart starting to race.

She just hung her head, her fiery strands falling around her face as she lifted her wand and whispered the counter spell to remove her concealment charms. When she lifted her face to look at Draco she saw him take a few steps back until his back hit the wall.

Draco couldn't believe what he was seeing, the first thing he took in were her solid black eyes. Not even a pupil, just those deadly black eyes that he knew to cause catastrophic damage. The veins throughout her entire body and even her face turned black and gold. You could almost see the fire running through her body beneath her skin. Her hair became the most vibrant he had ever seen it before. She was the most beautiful yet horrifying thing he had ever laid eyes on and if he didn't know just how dangerous Ginny could be in this state, he would have his lips on her in an instant.

"Ginny... I-What..." he couldn't find words as he tried to fight the tears that stung his eyes.

"That dream I thought I had... it wasn't a dream, I know it happened. Someone was there, maybe one of the Adwell brothers, I don't know." she started to explain so fast that Draco could barely keep up with her. "The person injected me with some black stuff, I'm not sure what it is exactly all I know is it acts like a steroid or something. Every time I use or feel my powers, I lose control and this has been happening," she said, gesturing to her body and how it looked.

She turned away from him and started crying, making him take a few steps closer to her.

"I couldn't even hold Ava the other day because I was hurting her... I've been taking sleeping draught and sedation potions to keep my powers from surfacing." she sobbed harder.

Draco walked in front of her and just looked at how she was suffering. His wife, the woman he loved and would anything for... the mother of his children. He couldn't stand to see her so lost and broken, not when he knew how strong she was.

He reached forward and cupped her face with one hand, her skin burning his touch. He let his powers surface so he could still touch her without being harmed. She looked up at him with those horrifying eyes.

"I'm so sorry I've kept this from you." she cried, looking away once more.

"Ginny, look at me." he said softly.

She was hesitant at first, but she lifted her face to look at him again.

"I love you and we will get through this, I'll help you." he pulled her into a hug.

She could feel his body fighting against her fiery touch, making her pull back. She couldn't even hug her husband without hurting him. She knew Draco would just use his powers to tolerate the heat, but she didn't want that.

There was a knock on their door and Ginny jumped into a panic.

"Mum, is dinner ready? We're waiting downstairs." came Riley's voice through the door.

"They can't see me like this; I don't want them to see me like this." Ginny cried, as she waved her wand once more and put her concealment charms back on.

"We'll be right down!" Draco called to her before he looked at Ginny once more, her eyes and skin back to normal.

"Draco, I'm scared, I'm scared I'm going to hurt you or one of the children. I don't think I can stay here anymore," she said, getting up and grabbing a bag from the closet.

"Wait a damn second Ginny," he said, taking the bag from her before she could attempt to pack up any clothes in it. "There's no way you're leaving your family because of this. You would never hurt any of us."

"Yeah, I bet that's what Ellie thought too." she snapped, ripping the bag from his grasp.

"Ginny, calm down."

"NO, DRACO!" she yelled. "I already went to Robert Adwell and told him what I thought he was up to and he is acting like he has no clue what I'm talking about."

"What? You went to Robert Adwell and accused him of making you his lab rat?" Draco asked, outraged at her careless actions. "Ginny, that's the last person you should be talking to right now."

"I don't care, I just want a way to end of all this," she said angrily. She stopped and turned to look at him, her eyes piercing into his. "Why does this feel so familiar? Why does it feel like the past has caught up with us? What is happening to our lives?"

He grabbed her in his arms; he didn't care how much her blazing touch made his powers kick in.

"Stop thinking like that Gin, we are ok, you are going to be ok... We all are." he grabbed her face in his hands. "You need to stay focused, ok? You are in control... not them, ok?"

She gave him a small tearful smile before she nodded.

* * *

Ember felt the wind blow gently across her face, the night air hitting her felt so peaceful. She opened her eyes and took in the lit up town below her from the hill she was sitting on.

"It's so beautiful at night," She said to Jake. "This is a nice spot," she said, turning to take in her surroundings once more.

There was a big tree they were sitting under on a high grassy hill that overlooked the busy town below.

"Yeah, I use to come here all the time, just for some peace of mind really. My mother was a single parent so we didn't have much and we struggled a lot. Sometimes it became all too much for her and she would break down. I always tried to be there for her, but she depended a lot on me for certain things. Whenever I felt too overwhelmed I would just come here. It always helped me clear my mind." he explained with a small smile.

She smiled back before it faded slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ember's mind was on so many things, the first being her brother and the whole Noah ordeal. The other was on her mother's reaction to her hanging out with Jake tonight. She was taken aback by how her mother freaked out, which made her wonder what Jake's father did that made him such an evil man.

"Just a lot on my mind is all."

"Well, what is it that you want to do? Name anything and I'll do my best to make it happen."

She gave a small laugh. "Hmm, I don't know, what do you do for fun?"

"Me?" he said with an amused smile. "Something quite out of the norm for the Wizarding World. See, my mother raised me in a very Muggle town and we have picked up a lot of Muggle ways."

Ember just stared at him before a small smile crossed her lips. "That's quite interesting, any specific reason why?"

"Well, at the time when she had me the Wizarding World was dangerous. I mean there was a war happening and she thought I'd be more protected and live a normal life if we blended in with Muggles. She soon came around after the war and wanted to go back to the ways of the Wizarding World but she became comfortable and most of all happy where she was... so we stayed."

"But you still went to Hogwarts? You're just a few years older than me, so we must have gone to school together."

"I know, crazy huh? It's hard to believe someone as beautiful as you was right under my nose and I never saw it," he said, his eyes locking with hers.

Ember couldn't help the blush that came to her face and she quickly looked away to hide it.

"Come on," Jake said suddenly, getting up and holding his hand out to help her up.

She took his hand and they apparated to the Muggle town they were looking down at. When she turned around and saw where they were she let out a small laugh.

"Bowling? This is what you do for fun?"

"Honestly, I work a lot, so I don't do many things that are fun. Have you ever bowled?"

She shook her head. "Definitely have not."

"Well, perfect, let's go," he said leading the way in.

Ember followed him into the bowling alley and her heart raced a bit. She wasn't around Muggles very often and being surrounded by them in the middle of a Muggle town had her on edge a bit. It was a lot more crowded than she thought and the music was blaring. She waited for Jake to set them up with a lane and then he led her over to grab a ball.

"Here, try this," he said handing her one.

She took it and almost dropped it as the weight of it was unexpected. "Geez, people throw these around?" she asked, following him over to their lane.

"Well, kind of. You sort of roll it to knock down all the pins... like this," he explained as he walked up to the lane and threw the ball.

They both watched it roll down the lane and she looked at Jake with a bit of confusion.

"You said the idea was to hit all the pins?"

"Yes."

"But you only hit one," she stated.

"Yeah, I see that." he said sarcastically.

They both laughed.

"Ok, let me give it a go," she said, making her way up to the lane.

She squinted her eyes a bit to focus on the pins and brought her hand back before she threw the bowling ball. It was rolling quite slow down the lane as she watched it.

"You have to throw it a bit faster," Jake said.

Ember's face lit up when she saw the ball hit the middle pin and watched as the rest of them all fell.

"Oh, look I got them all. That's good right?" she asked Jake.

He just stared at her for a moment with his mouth open. "Uh, yeah, that's great... it's called a strike."

"So what do we call the one you knocked down?"

"I call it screwed." he laughed before they continued to bowl.

Two games later and Jake had given up on even trying at this point. He hadn't realized how bad he was at this until now. After his third gutterball in a row, he just let Ember have at it and watched her the rest of the game. He watched her jump in excitement when she kept getting a strike which made him get lost in her completely.

"I think I won again," she said.

"Indeed you did," he said with a smirk.

They both turned towards the group of people beside them who were having an argument and started getting rather loud.

"Come on, we should get going," he said.

"What do you think they're fighting about?" She asked, looking over as she slipped her shoes back on.

"Who knows, they look drunk to me," he said as the men started shoving each other.

Ember jumped when one of the men fell backward right in front of her. A part of her felt like she should help him up, but she felt a bit nervous around this Muggle setting since she wasn't used to their lifestyle. Before she could contemplate it any further the two men started throwing punches and she felt Jake grab her arm and pull her away from the two brawling men.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a bit of amusement in his tone.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm just not used to seeing this kind of stuff," she said following him out to the parking lot.

Once they were outside he let go of her hand when he felt it getting really hot.

"Your hand... why is it so hot?"

Ember's heart started to race, she knew Jake was aware of her parent's powers and he saw Scorpius and Ellie use theirs, but she never let it known to him that she had any too. She didn't want to stick around to find out how he would react either and so she started walking behind the building to find a place out of sight to apparate back home.

"Ember, hold on!" he called to her as he ran to catch up. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go, I can't be here... I-"

"Because of your powers?" he asked.

She just stared at him.

"You have powers right? Fire? Like your mum?" he asked.

"How did you know?"

"How could I not, plus... your hair is becoming a fiery wave." he laughed, pointing to the few strands that gently hovered around her face.

She ran her hands through her hair and gave it a light shake until the flames disappeared and then looked away from him. "I'm sorry, it's just this setting is so new to me and then the excitement over bowling and then the fight...I just got-"

"Can you show me?"

She looked at him again. "What?"

"Your powers, can you show me some of them?"

"You actually want to see me use my powers?" she asked him again.

He nodded.

She took a few steps further behind the building to be out of sight from any Muggles before she held out her hand in front of him. Soon a small flame formed in the palm of her hand and she watched Jake's face light up with the smile he gave her. His smile did something to her and soon her hair was ablaze again as it gently blew across her face.

She suddenly felt his lips on hers, she was hesitant at first, but when her body instantly relaxed and she kissed him back. Just as she was settling into the kiss she felt him break it and back away from her.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Ember, I didn't mean to do that. I mean, I did, but I didn't mean to without asking you." Jake started to go off on a nervous rant. "Your father is going to kill me if he finds out I kissed you unless you want to kill me, which honestly, it's probably only fair, I shouldn't have taken advantage of you and-"

He was cut off by her lips against his this time.

She could tell he was the one who was hesitant this time, but soon realized she was more than ok with him kissing her. It was soft and gentle, but felt so long overdue, even though she only knew Jake a short time.

"You don't have to apologize," she said, looking up at him.

"I was just overwhelmed by how beautiful you looked using your powers. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he said.

Ember bit her lip at his comment. She wasn't used to getting compliments, especially from a boy. Noah made it known to her that she was nothing more than a freak with a deadly gift. She was surprised to see her powers surface as they did, she had always struggled with conjuring them up in such a powerful way. Being around Jake made her feel a bit more confident and the fact that he didn't look at her like some killing machine made her embrace her powers a little more.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Jake said as he laced his fingers with hers.

"I thought this wasn't a date?" she asked in amusement.

"Yeah, and I thought I was a decent bowler."

They both laughed.

 **A/N: Alright what did you think? Ginny is losing herself a bit in this chapter. Then we have our poor James and Scorpius going through their own shit. Your thoughts on all of this? Please review! Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: HERE IT IS! I HAVEN'T REALLY RECEIVED TOO MUCH FEEDBACK ON THIS FIC SO FAR SO I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU GUYS THINK AND HOW YOU'RE ENJOYING IT.**

 **If you haven't already done so, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Draco gave a quick knock on his son's door before he opened it and once again found an empty bed. This was the third attempt he made to talk to Scorpius about his night out with James and every time, Scorpius was nowhere to be found. He would even attempt first thing in the morning, but Scorpius would already be up and out of the house before Draco could get a chance.

"Hey, where's your brother?" He asked Aurora who was walking by.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

Draco let out a frustrated sigh before he closed the bedroom door and walked into Aurora's room behind her. "How's Potter?"

She laughed at his question. "I wouldn't know, he's avoiding me," she said glaring at him.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Well, you're constantly pushing him away, he probably just decided not to even bother with me any more thanks to you." she snapped, pushing past him and making her way down to breakfast.

"I haven't said anything new to him besides the usual shit. Maybe you should go... you know, go see him." Draco said.

Aurora stopped walking and looked at her father like he was crazy. "You want me to go hang out with James? Who the hell are you?" she said, shaking her head before she kept walking.

He quickly caught up with her and stopped her again. "I just mean, go check on him. He seems like he's going through some stuff and needs a friend."

She started laughing. "You are acting mental, but I would have to agree, James has been acting rather off lately. Perhaps I will go pay him a visit," she said before she turned and walked downstairs.

* * *

"Dad, where's Mum?" Ellie asked, taking a seat at the table as she watched her father place a giant plate of french toast down on the table.

"She's not feeling well this morning so she is resting. Why? You don't trust my cooking?" he asked with a smirk.

"It's french toast, it's not that hard so I hope you've managed to make it edible." she laughed as she took two pieces.

"Ember, any idea where your brother is?" Draco asked as she entered the dining room.

She just shook her head.

"How was your date?" he asked her.

"It wasn't a date. We just hung out as friends." she snapped.

"Mmhmm, so how was your... friend... date thingy?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was fine, why? Am I forbidden to hang out with him again? Where is Mum anyway?"

"She's sick," Riley said.

"Sick?" Ember asked. "With what?"

"Never mind with what, just finish breakfast and then take your sisters to your grandparents. I need to get to work." Draco said firmly.

"Yeah, so do I," Ember said.

"Believe me, I'm sure the third floor could manage without a receptionist for a half hour while you escort your sisters to your grandparents."

She saw the look her father gave her and she could see something was troubling him. She watched him give each one of the girls a quick kiss goodbye before he grabbed a piece of toast and headed for the door.

"Hey Dad, wait up!" she called as she ran into the foyer.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" he said, throwing his suit jacket on and opening the front door. "I'm just running late, you ok?"

She nodded. "Is everything ok with Mum?"

He stopped for a second before he looked at her. "Ember, everything is fine. I need you to take your sisters to your grandparents for the day. Your mother needs to rest."

She nodded before she gave him a small smile as he gave her a quick hug and then quickly left the Manor.

* * *

Ember took a seat at her desk and slid the pile of paperwork closer to her to get to work. She barely got through the first file when Robert and Noah's father, Jack Adwell came walking out of the office.

"Ember, it's nice to see you. I thought I would have seen you up at the hospital by now." Jack said.

"Mr. Adwell, I-Um... I'm so sorry to hear about Noah." she finally managed to get out.

"Please come see him, maybe he needs to hear your voice," he said, almost pleading with her.

She couldn't stand the look he was giving her. She felt so guilty for not going up to see Noah regardless of his forceful ways into trying to persuade her into sex. She never really thought Noah would go as far as forcing her into something like that and didn't think he actually would, but at the moment she didn't take any chances.

"Of course... I'll go see him," she said with a small smile before he gave her a nod and walked off.

She turned to Robert Adwell standing in the doorway of his office. "Ember, can I see you in here for a moment?"

She walked into his office and took a seat as she watched him close the door and take a seat behind his desk.

"How are you doing Ember? With the news of Noah and everything going on with your family?" he asked her with a kind smile.

"Um, I'm ok," she answered in a small voice.

He nodded at her response. "You know your mother paid me a visit a short time ago," he said locking eyes with her. "She said some hurtful things to me and made some strong accusations."

Ember was silent.

"She also seemed rather riled up over some things that went down between you and Noah."

Ember broke eye contact with him at this point, she felt quite uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I just wanted to apologize on behalf of my nephew if anything inappropriate took place. You're a lovely young lady and should be treated with respect," he said softly.

She looked at him once more. "Thanks," she managed to mumble out.

"I'd like to send you down for some questioning on Noah's attack." he suddenly asked.

"What? Why?"

"Well, you two were dating, we just want to ask you a few questions." he casually said.

"Am I being summoned for questioning? Or are you asking if it's ok if they question me?" Ember asked, glaring at him.

"Asking-"

"Then no," she said firmly before she stood up to leave.

"May I ask why not? It's not like you have anything to hide, right?"

Her hand firmly gripped the doorknob as she held it open to leave before she turned back to him. "What exactly are you implying Mr. Adwell?"

"Nothing Dear, I am positive you would never hide information that would help conceal the monster that beat my nephew close to death."

A sneer covered her face as she stared him down. "I appreciate the opportunity to work here Mr. Adwell, but like my father warned me... I really would rather not get caught up in the corruption that is about to take place within the Ministry. So with that being said... I quit." she said before she slammed the door shut.

* * *

Draco and Harry were sitting in the office in silence as they flipped through a few files. Each one lost in their own thoughts. Draco glanced over at Harry for a moment and saw he wasn't even taking in the information on the file before him.

"Hey, has Scorpius been at your plac-" he stopped speaking when he realized Harry started asking him the same question about James.

"Sorry," Harry started. "Something is up with James, but every time I attempt to talk to him, he's either running out the door with fake plans or sleeping or out of the house before dawn. Was just wondering if maybe he's been hanging out with Aurora."

Draco sighed as he tossed the file down. "No, he hasn't been over, just the other night for a few minutes. I'm going through the same thing with Scorpius. Harry, has James said anything to you about the night of this so-called party him and Scorpius went to?"

Harry shook his head.

"The night before Noah was attacked Ember was over there and the little bastard tried taking advantage of her. She said something to Scorpius about it and then the next day I just find it coincidental that Noah ended up in the hospital."

"I seriously hope you're not implying what I think you are," Harry said, his eyes growing a bit wider.

"I think Scorpius and James went there. I'm not positive, but Ember practically confirmed it the other night."

"Why James though? Maybe he really did go to a party."

Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Or maybe not," Harry mumbled.

Draco could see the concern in Harry's face if what he was saying was true and he almost felt guilty for saying anything at all without being certain.

"Listen, Harry, we don't know anything for certain, but I think we need to have a talk with them."

Harry just gave him a quick nod as he ran his hand wildly through his hair.

There was a knock that filled the silence that formed between the two men as they turned their attention towards the door.

"Afternoon boys," said Hermione, walking in.

"Hey." they both mumbled.

"So I just came from the third floor to check on Ember."

"And?" Draco asked, grabbing the file off his desk once more.

"And apparently there was no Ember to check on because she quit this morning."

"What? Why?" Draco asked, throwing the file down again.

"I'm not sure, I do know that they were looking to question her."

Draco jumped out of his seat and stormed from the office, making his way to the third floor. He passed Bridgette and ignored her attempts at trying to stop him from walking into Mr. Adwell's office, but once he shot her a deadly glare she sat back down and kept quiet.

"Good afternoon Mr. Adwell, do you know where Ember is?" he asked as he barged into the office.

"Mr. Malfoy, if only I had a Galleon for every time one of your family members came storming into my office, I'd be able to retire," he said calmly not looking up from his paperwork.

"What happened with Ember?" he demanded.

"Your daughter decided to quit after being asked to answer a few questions about Noah's attack."

"What kind of information do you think she could possibly have to offer you?" he asked angrily.

"Well, according to your wife there was an incident between my nephew and your daughter the night before someone almost killed him. Then, with your wife's visit the other day and her threats and accusations..." he trailed off before he finally looked up at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, I have been quite patient with everything going on with your family, but now my patience is wearing thin. This idea that your wife has in her head that I drugged her and injected her with something?"

"Something is wrong with her and it happened that day in the hospital."

"Well, believe what you will, but I didn't do any such thing. Now the next time I'm accused of something like that I will seek disciplinary actions. Now please leave my office."

"Gladly," he said through clenched teeth before he left, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"James!"

He finally snapped his head over to his mother.

"Haven't you heard me calling you?" Luna asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts," he said.

"Anything you want to talk about?" she asked as they walked the streets of Diagon Alley.

James' gaze fell on his little sister Bella as she twirled about in front of them in her own little world.

"Not really."

"I suppose that's alright for now, but you know eventually you'll have to tell me," she said with a smile.

He smiled back before he gave her a small nod.

"Bella, do not wander that far ahead!" Luna called to her as Bella ran back to her side. "What about Aurora? Anything new with her?" she asked, turning back to James as they all entered a crowded bakery.

"Not really, Mum. Why are you asking so many questions?" James asked, some slight annoyance in his tone.

"Well, it's not very often we hang out alone anymore. This is the second time you've joined me on a trip to Diagon Alley and it would be nice to spend some quality time together. Maybe know a bit of what's going on in each other's lives?" she suggested with a casual shrug.

"I guess," he mumbled.

"Bella! I won't tell you again, come here!" Luna called over to Bella who was getting ready to leave the shop on her own. "James, can you keep an eye on her while I grab what I need?"

"No problem," he said as he made his way over to Bella and gently pulled her away from the door. "Bella, stay close to Mum, ok?"

She stopped twirling for a moment and looked up at him. "What's wrong James?"

"What do you mean?"

"You look sad," she said in a small voice as a small frown crossed her lips.

He squatted down to her level and smiled at his little sister. "Maybe a little bit."

"Are you going to be ok?" she squeaked out.

"I think so. Now stay close and maybe Mum will get you those cookies you like so much," he said as he reached forward and straightened out the yellow bow that lay at the top of her ponytail.

She nodded before she gave him a tight hug.

He watched her go back to spinning about, but a lot closer to him and Luna before he turned his attention back to his mum.

"So your birthday is only a few weeks away... so is Aurora's. What do you have in mind this year?" Luna asked.

He just shrugged.

"Alright James Potter, what is going on? You're not acting like any son of mine. Talk to me... please." she begged.

He looked at the worry on her face and he felt so guilty. He was always open and honest with his parents because they were always so easy to talk to, but the thing with Noah had him feeling ashamed. Then the secret of his powers had his head in a whirlwind, he just wasn't sure how to bring it up. Draco was so sure his father would understand, but he wasn't as sure of that.

"Mum, I need to tell you something... I..." he trailed off.

He felt her give his hand a light squeeze. "James there is nothing you can tell me that would make me love you any less. Just say what's on your mind," she reassured him.

He gave her a small smile before he went to open his mouth in an attempt to tell her about his powers. He stopped when he saw his mother's eyes start to dart all around the small bakery.

"Bella?" Luna called.

He turned to locate his sister, but she was nowhere in sight. "Bella!" he called out.

He quickly pushed through the crowd forming in the shop as he searched all around for any sight of that yellow bow. "BELLA!"

He ran out into the street and looked down each way and still no sign of her. He felt his mother latch onto his arms as she fell into a panic.

"Do you see her, where is she?" she cried.

He turned to his mother. "Mum, I'll find her; she probably just wandered off to the side of the building or something. I'll go check this way. Why don't you go that way and see if you spot her." he suggested to her in an attempt to keep her calm, even though, his heart was racing right now.

James started looking through the crowd on the busy street looking for some sign of his sister.

"BELLA!" he kept calling over and over until he looked down the first side alley.

He was instantly relieved when he saw someone saw she had wandered off and was walking her back over to him.

"Bella, what did I say? I told you to stay-" his breath caught in his throat when he saw it was Jack Adwell who found her.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I see this little one here belongs to you."

"Yeah, thanks," he said, attempting to reach forward to take Bella back over to him, but he stopped when Mr. Adwell placed both of his hands on her shoulders to keep her put.

"Mr. Potter, I'm glad I have you here. You know my son right? Noah? I mean, of course, you do."

James tried to swallow the lump in his throat before he turned to look down the alley out to the busy street to see if there was any sign of his mother to break up this uncomfortable encounter with Noah's dad.

James nodded. "What about him?"

"Unfortunate about what happened to him, my housekeeper had a lot more to say than we all thought."

James couldn't breathe, he tried, but it became strained. "Oh, well, that's a good thing right?"

"Indeed it is."

They were both silent, their eyes locked on one another and James thought he would just throw up right then and there from how much his stomach was twisted into a knot.

"Do you ever think about whether she has them or not?" Mr. Adwell asked him as he nodded down to Bella in front of him.

"Has what?"

"The same thing you possess?"

James finally managed to swallow the lump in his throat, but now it just sat in his chest as it felt ready to explode with how fast his heart was beating.

"What are you talking about?"

Mr. Adwell just smiled at him before he leaned down and had Bella face him. "Make sure you stay close to your mum from now on. You wouldn't want the wrong people getting their hands on someone like you," he told her as she nodded before he reached up and tightened her bow.

Bella ran over to James who scooped her up in his arms.

"You do the same Mr. Potter," he said before he apparated from the alley.

"BELLA! THERE YOU ARE, WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?" Luna screamed as she caught sight of them down the alleyway.

She ran forward and ripped her from James' grasp and hugged her tightly as she cried in relief.

"Don't you ever scare Mummy like that ever again, do you understand me, young lady?" Luna said firmly, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

James just stared at the spot where Mr. Adwell stood moments ago, his words ringing in his ears before he felt his mother take his arm and apparate them home.

* * *

Ember walked into the Manor and walked by the kitchen to see if her mother was in there making dinner.

"Mum?"

She gave a shrug and assumed she must have gone to her grandparents to pick her sisters up. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and started walking down the hall when she stopped. She sniffed the air a few times and followed the scent before she realized something was burning. The closer she walked to her parents' bedroom the stronger the smell got and she soon found smoke coming out from under the door.

"Mum?" she called as she walked over and opened the door.

Once she was in the room, she realized it wasn't smoke, but steam that clouded the room. When she didn't see her mother she noticed quite a bit of smoke and steam coming from under the bathroom door.

"Mum!" she called louder as she ran to the door and went to open it.

She realized it was locked and waved her wand to unlock it before she burst through the door. Once most of the steam cleared out into the bedroom, she saw her mother submerged in the tub fully clothed.

"MUM!" she yelled before she reached in and pulled her up.

Ginny's eyes snapped open when she felt someone grab her out of the water and she stared at Ember with wide eyes.

"Mum, what the hell are you doing? Are you ok?"

Ginny just stared at her for a moment before she pulled herself up out of the water. "I'm fine, I just needed to cool down."

"In your clothes?" Ember asked with a raised eyebrow.

She looked around the room and then back at her mother before she put it all together.

"Mum, are you having trouble with your powers?"

Ginny squeezed her eyes tightly shut and composed herself before she turned to face her oldest daughter with a smile. "Everything is fine, Love. I promise, I'm just not feeling too well and they just go a bit wacky on me when I'm sick. Don't worry sweetheart." she said, waving her hand before she walked into her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her.

Before Ember could question her further Ginny spoke up again. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for how I reacted about you going out with Jake. I didn't mean it, you are right, all because his father was..." she trailed off before she cleared her throat and looked at Ember again. "I'm sure Jake is a very nice young man." she finished before she grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and walked back into the bathroom and shut the door.

* * *

Draco knocked on Scorpius' bedroom door twice before he walked inside and saw him lying in bed.

"We need to talk," he said.

"Dad, I'm trying to sleep, we'll talk in the morning," Scorpius mumbled.

"Perfect, this way you can slip out at the crack of dawn before I get to you, right? No, it's only nine o'clock, now stop pretending to sleep and get the hell up."

Scorpius gave a hard sigh before he threw the blankets off of himself.

Draco took in his attire and shook his head. "So you go to bed fully clothed now?"

Scorpius ignored him as he just sat on the edge of his bed. He watched his father close his bedroom door, making his stomach start to turn.

Draco took a seat beside him. "Where were you the night Noah was attacked?" he jumped right to the question that was weighing on his mind.

"I told you, I was at a part-"

"A party, yeah, I know what you told me. Now I want to know where you really were," he asked.

Scorpius turned and locked eyes with him, he could see that his father knew he was lying.

"I was at Raven's."

Draco shook his head, "Wrong, try again."

"Why are you asking if you already know?" Scorpius asked.

"Because it has always been my hope that my children would never lie to me. Especially when it comes to something like this." He locked eyes once more with his son. "Scorpius, were you at Noah's that night?"

Scorpius closed his eyes tightly as he tried to hold himself together as he answered the question. After a few moments, he started to nod.

Draco's heart sank, he knew that this was most likely the outcome, but a small piece of him hoped he was wrong. "Was it you and James that attacked Noah?"

Scorpius nodded again. "It was mostly me... I never should have gotten James involved."

"No, you shouldn't have. Tell me what happened."

Scorpius just shook his head. It was a day he didn't want to relive and to explain it to his father wasn't something he was likely to get through without falling apart.

They were both silent for a few moments.

"I just... lost control." Scorpius finally choked out. "I was just so angry, Dad. At that moment... I wanted him to pay for what he did to Ember. I didn't think I could do something so brutal... I hate myself for it."

Scorpius couldn't hold it in any longer, the pain and guilt he felt over his actions came to surface and he started to fall apart right in front of his father.

Draco stood in front of his son and watched him for a moment. It was always amazing to him when he would realize that he was a father and this young man before him was his son. A young man that was hurting and struggling with life like he did at his age. Their situations were a lot different, but he knew what it felt like to feel like a bad person, to see yourself as nothing more than a monster.

He pulled Scorpius into a hug as he fell apart in his arms. He couldn't stand to see Scorpius so upset, he wished he could turn back time and undo these past few weeks.

Scorpius looked up at him. "You told me once that you knew I was a good person because I had Mum's heart." he choked out through his sobs.

Draco nodded. "That's right, I did."

"What if... the darkness that was inside of your father... is inside of me?"

Draco just stared at him with wide eyes; he was appalled that Scorpius would think such a thing.

He quickly shook his head. "No, don't you ever think that." He grabbed Scorpius roughly by the shoulders and gave him a hard stare. "That is not true; there is not one ounce of darkness inside of you. I know this because the day I fell in love with your mother all the darkness in me died. She saved my life, I was free from all the hate and anger that once consumed me and it was replaced with nothing but love for her and now for you kids. You all come from a place of love and happiness, there is no darkness... do you understand?" he asked him, his own eyes welling with tears.

Scorpius nodded.

"Your intentions to protect your sister come from a place of love... the rest of what happened... was a mistake and we all make mistakes," he said before he pulled him into a hug once more.

"What should I do, Dad?"

Draco pulled back and looked at him before he gave a hard sigh. "Well, first I need you to stop going to see Noah at the hospital."

Scorpius looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, I know you've been up there because Raven came by looking for you yesterday asking where you've been and said how distant you've been."

Scorpius nodded.

"I want you to try and get back to some normal life until we figure things out," he said making his way to the door. "I love you, Son."

"I love you too, Dad."

* * *

James sat on the steps of the porch to the farmhouse after dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's house. He could hear the laughter through the screen door coming from the kitchen and a small smile crossed his face. He couldn't help but feel so lost right now with everything going on. How did things get to this point? He hated feeling so ashamed and in the dark about his powers. He was wondering if maybe he should ask Draco and Ginny to help him practice with his, but he felt out of place since they didn't know anything about his kind of powers.

"You're quite deep in thought, dear James."

He turned to see Aurora standing beside him. She was smiling down at him before she took a seat.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Alright, I've been patient enough. I'm sick of seeing you like this, what happened to our friendship? Don't you trust me? You trusted me enough to tell me about your powers, why can't you trust me with whatever else you're hiding?" she asked, her eyes held concern and he could tell she was hurt by him giving her the constant cold shoulder.

"I'm sorry Aurora. I honestly never meant to make you feel like you were untrustworthy."

She just shook her head before she locked eyes with him again and they both became silent.

"Will you go out with me? Tomorrow night around six?" she suddenly asked him.

"Out with you? Like a date?" he asked.

"Yes, will you go on a date with me?" she repeated.

"You're asking me out?" he asked again, surprised at how open she was about it.

"Yes, I'm asking you out on a date, because quite frankly, I'm sick of waiting for you to ask me," she said with a small smirk.

He laughed. "In my defense, your father keeps me from asking."

She laughed at his comment. "Well then perfect. I'm the one asking, so what do you say?"

He was mesmerized by her smile and he soon realized he was smiling too. It was something he hadn't done in so long and this moment with Aurora made him remember why he loved her so much. For a moment he forgot all about the pain and fear he was feeling... for a moment he felt like his old self again.

"Yes, I would love to go out with you."

She smiled brightly at him before she reached forward and laced her fingers with his. "Good."

* * *

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired." Ginny said.

Ron raised an eyebrow at her response. "If you say so, but Mum is already whispering behind your back to Draco about you seeing a doctor," he said with a smirk.

She sighed. "Of course she is." she laughed.

"Alright, time for dessert!" Molly called out, placing a cake down on the table.

Ron got up off the couch and held his hand out for his sister as she pulled herself up. "How's Ellie doing?"

Ginny just shook her head. "Honestly, I wish I knew. There has been so much going on lately I feel like I haven't had any time with the kids. I'm a horrible mother." she sighed.

"Stop that." she snapped her head up at the sound of Draco's voice, who had overheard her conversation with Ron.

She looked at Ron, who gave her a smile before he walked over to the table and left her and Draco in the living room.

"You're an amazing mother and an even more amazing wife. We are just being tested right now and I know how much of a sore loser you are, so you know we're going to conquer this," he said with a smile before he pulled her into a hug.

She gave a small laugh before she looked up into his eyes. She could see his smile fade a bit when he looked at her.

"They're changing again?" she asked him.

He nodded when he saw her eyes turn black.

She looked at her arm and saw her concealment charms failing her. "I'll be right there, let me go take care of this," she said softly before she made her way to the bathroom.

Ginny locked herself in the bathroom and quickly pulled her wand out to work on her concealment charms. Once they were put in place she looked herself over in the mirror, noticing just how dreadful she looked.

"Ugh, I look like I just woke up from the dead," she mumbled to herself.

She had a sharp pain shoot through her head suddenly forcing her to take a seat on the side of the tub. Her heart started racing and a high pitch ringing filled her ears as she slid off the tub and onto the floor.

"GINNY! DESSERT!" yelled Molly from the kitchen.

"C-Coming!" Ginny strained to call out.

She let out a growl of pain as she laid her forehead against the cold tile floor. The pain spread throughout her body and all she tried to focus on was not screaming at the top of lungs. She grabbed the towel from the rack and balled it up and bit down on it while a wave of pain made her body completely fail her. She couldn't move, it was like something was taking over her body as she desperately tried to pull herself up off the floor. The towel she was grasping tightly became engulfed in flames and she fought with everything in her to drag herself up over the sink and turn the water on. She threw the towel under the faucet to put out the flames and soon the water started to slow down.

Ginny watched the water start to pour out but before it hit the sink it turned to ice. She looked at her hands, her fingertips were covered in a light frost and then as quick as the ice-covered her hands, she watched the fire within her take over and melt it away.

"Mum? Are you coming out? Grandma said you better hurry before Ron eats it all." Ellie laughed through the door.

"Yes, I'll be right out!" she called.

After another minute or so, when Ginny was able to tolerate the pain a little more, she composed herself and left the bathroom.

"Well, it's about time, here, come sit Sweetheart," Molly said, pointing to the chair beside Draco.

Draco looked her over, he could tell something was off as she neared the table. He watched her stop walking all of a sudden and just look at him.

"Gin, are you ok?"

He just watched her eyes roll to the back of her head as she fell with a hard thud to the floor.

"Ginny!" Draco ran to her side and pulled her into his arms.

She almost immediately regained consciousness, her eyes looking up at him.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" Molly asked, kneeling on the other side of her and grabbing her face in her hands.

Ginny looked up at the crowd of people around her, the worried look on her children's faces made her feel horrible.

She suddenly felt something start to take over, something she knew she wouldn't be able to control. Whatever had been injected into her was finally activated and she was scared to death of the outcome.

She suddenly scrambled out of Draco's arms and pulled herself up, losing her balance and falling into the wall.

"Hey, let me help you," Draco said, trying to help her balance herself.

"No, I need to get out of here," she whispered out.

Her concealment charms no longer had any effect on her and her eyes became those deadly black orbs.

Draco could see the fire waiting to erupt from within her as she quickly made a run for the back door.

She could feel it surfacing and she didn't want to be anywhere near her family when her powers took over. She barreled through the back door and slammed right into Scorpius, knocking him to the ground. She pushed past anyone that stood in her way as she ran as fast as she could across that grassy field. As she ran, her mind went back to the war that took place on this same field almost eighteen years ago. The familiarity of it all was haunting and she didn't dare let her mind go to that dark place again, but she was afraid that right now she had no say in it.

She could hear Draco yelling for her to stop, but she couldn't, she knew she had to let out this power somehow. She felt her legs give out on her as she fell to her knees and with a blood-curdling scream she erupted into a blazing inferno.

Draco stopped in his tracks when he saw a massive wall of flames coming right at him and he quickly changed direction and ran back towards the house.

"GET BACK INSIDE!" he yelled across the field.

He soon realized he wasn't going to be able to outrun the rapidly approaching fire. He stopped running and quickly formed a solid wall of ice in front of everyone to shield them from the deadly blaze.

Ember watched the icy wall form, her father still on the other side. The last thing she could see before the wall grew to high for her to see over, was her dad being swallowed up by the raging inferno.

"DAD!" she screamed as she attempted to run to him.

Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her back as they watched the flames finally hit the icy wall in front of them. It was quickly melting the ice away and they started worrying it might still get through.

"Scorpius, try and reinforce the wall," Harry said.

Scorpius felt his stomach drop, he hadn't used his powers since the night he attacked Noah.

"SCORPIUS!"

He heard his name being yelled out again and this immense amount of pressure overcame him. He locked eyes with Ember, fear covered her face, but she gave him a small nod that somehow gave him the courage to let his powers surface. He held both of his hands out and soon the icy wall before them started to thicken and heighten; stopping any flames from getting through.

When they saw all the flames stop, everyone fell silent; not sure what they would see on the other side. After a few moments when they were sure there were no more raging flames, Ember slowly melted a part of the wall so they could get through to the other side.

"Dad?" she called out.

Her eyes fell on a large icy shield that she knew her father to be encased in and she let out a relieved sigh when she saw him finally emerge from it. She ran over and threw her arms around him before she looked him over to make sure he was ok. She could see his clothes were a bit singed but he was fine overall.

"You guys ok?" he asked her before he looked up at the rest of them.

They all nodded.

"Draco," Hermione called his name before she nodded behind him.

He turned to see Ginny walking towards them, he wasn't sure what kind of mental state she was in. He gestured for Ember to get back as Ginny continued to approach them, he could see her powers were still raging.

"Ginny?" he called to her as he took a step towards her. "Are you in there?"

He tried to search her eyes for any sign of her, but the deep black orbs that stared back at him made it hard to find any trace of her. All her concealment charms were off and the monster that she was slowly being forced to become was on display for them all to see.

He walked right up to her this time and gently grabbed her shoulders, his hands fighting against her burning skin.

"I know you're in there, Ginny... what did they do to you?" he whispered out.

He felt her slowly drop to her knees before she buried her face in her hands and started crying.

"I didn't want them to see me like this... as a monster."

"You're not a monster Ginny, and the kids love you no matter what," he said, looking over his shoulder at all of them staring anxiously at the both of them, waiting to see what would happen next.

"I'm scared Draco, I don't want to hurt anyone. I could've killed you... the kids. I don't know how much more I can hold on."

"You can... you have to until we figure this out."

She just fell silent, her crying coming to an abrupt stop before she looked back up at him. "Get away from me."

"What?"

"Get back," she said through clenched teeth as she fought the powers inside her from overtaking her mind once more.

He got up and took a few steps back, he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave her. As he took another step back, he heard something crunch beneath his shoe. He saw the grass beneath his feet was starting to frost over and it wasn't him doing it. He instinctively turned to his son, who noticed the change as well, but he soon realized it wasn't him either. His eyes fell back on Ginny, the ground beneath her turning to ice.

He saw her body fight against the ice that wanted to take over, but he knew Ginny's fire powers would try to overtake it. It was hard to see her in so much pain, he could see the battle raging inside her body. He went to approach her again when she suddenly threw a fireball at him, making him fly back onto the ground.

Ginny was on her feet again, her face unreadable as she quickly ran at him again. Draco quickly formed a shield of ice over him as she released a steady stream of blazing flames on him. He felt the heat fighting against his powers and just when he thought he would lose this fight against her, he felt a stronger cool wave come over him and he blasted her backward off of him.

She pulled herself up off the ground, but instead of her going after him she turned her attention to the crowd of people behind her.

"No! Ginny stop!" he yelled to her.

Without looking at him, a fiery rope emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around Draco tightly as he fought against the burning sensation.

She walked over to the porch, all signs of Ginny were gone at this moment.

"Don't say or do anything, maybe if she doesn't think you're a threat she won't hurt you," Hermione said to them as Ginny walked right up to her.

Hermione's heart felt like it stopped beating altogether with how stiff she became by the close encounter with Ginny. Her lips trembled and a quiet sigh of relief left her mouth when she saw her back away. Ginny started walking away when she stopped and turned to Ember and Scorpius, she walked so quickly up to the both of them that Ember released a small whimper of fear. Ginny furrowed her brow at the sound and she just looked at the both of them, her expression turning sad as she backed away.

But her attention was suddenly caught by something else and she walked over to Aurora and James. Aurora could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she looked at James. She could tell his powers were trying to surface and he was trying so hard to not let them show.

"James?" she squeaked out in a tiny whisper.

He just turned to look at her. "I'm trying," he whispered back.

He took in a sharp breath when Ginny was face to face with him. She reached up and placed a hand on his chest. She suddenly grabbed him, her grip burning him and then in a moment, it all stopped when a bolt of electricity sent Ginny flying backward.

James was confused, it wasn't him that did that... he didn't think anyway. When he suddenly saw Ginny jump to her feet and run past him and over to his dad, it all made sense.

Ginny went to send out two fiery streams at Harry, but he sent out an electrical shock that ran up her legs and brought her to her knees as she let out a loud scream.

"I'm sorry Ginny," he said before he hit her with another small bolt of electricity that made her fall unconscious.

He closed his eyes tightly as he heard Draco run up to him. He didn't say anything, he knew right now the hardest thing Harry had to face, was the look his son gave him.

Harry turned to James, he had a permanent look of shock covering his face... they all did. He quickly glanced at Luna, who gave him a sad look before he apparated out of sight.

 **A/N: SO WHAT DID YOU THINK? A LOT MORE OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITH GINNY WILL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here it is! Guys I could really use some feedback from you. What are your thoughts so far on the story?**

"Well you look like yourself, but you're somebody else

Only it ain't on the surface

Well you talk like yourself. No, I hear someone else though

Now you're making me nervous"

 **The chorus from this song by Flora Cash "You're Somebody Else" inspired some of the scenes in this chapter in case anyone was interested.**

 **If you haven't already done so, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Draco walked into his bedroom and his eyes fell on Ginny lying in bed. His mind went back to the events from earlier in the night. He walked around the side of the bed where Ginny was facing the wall and saw she was awake.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked her.

She wiped the tears from her face. "Does it matter?" she mumbled before she pulled the blankets up over her head.

"Gin, don't do that... don't start shutting me out."

She threw the blankets off herself and sat up. "Draco, look at me! I'm a fuckin walking nightmare!" she shouted.

"You're not," he said, gently grabbing her shoulders before he quickly grabbed his hands away when the contact of her skin burned him.

She just shook her head at his attempt to console her. "I could have killed you... or one of the kids. Maybe I do need to be locked up in a lab."

"No, Ginny you don't. You were fine before they fucked with you. I won't let them get to you."

"They already have Draco. It's only a matter of time before they come for Scorpius and Ember for evaluations. I'm sure the voluntary decision to have the rest of the kids will soon not be an option. They already have us-"

"Ginny, stop it," he said firmly as he grabbed her shoulders again, this time his grip was firm and his touch cold... freezing cold. "You are the strongest woman I know and I know you won't give in like this. You keep fighting until you can't fight anymore... ok?" he said as he locked eyes with her black ones.

She gave a nod before she hung her head. "But you're ok right? The kids, you sure they're all ok?"

He gave her a small smile. "Physically, they are all fine... emotionally and mentally..." he trailed off. "A lot of questions, Ellie feels guilty."

Ginny's eyes snapped up to his at his comment. "Why?"

"Because you used that spell on her, she thinks she gave you what was inside her."

"I have to go talk to her," she said as she went to slip out of the bed, but stopped when Draco stepped in front of her.

"Wait," he said.

She looked up at him before she felt him push a small vial into her hands.

"You need to keep drinking these sedation potions for now. Hermione said these ones won't make you so tired though, it will just calm you down."

Ginny looked at the vial in her hands. She thought back to the horrific memory of when she had gotten that cursed letter and became possessed by something so dark. She remembered Draco having to force sleeping draught down her throat just so that she wouldn't try to kill the twins or anyone else in the house.

She wiped a few tears from her face as the memory faded. "Just like old times," she choked out before she drank the potion.

He just gave her a sad look before he grabbed her face in his icy hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Don't say that... do you know how hard that was for me? I need to keep you and the kids safe and I know you agree with that."

She nodded before he pulled her into a hug.

* * *

James had been deep in thought ever since they got home from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley earlier tonight. His father didn't say a word about the powers he had been keeping secret all these years. He was angry at first, but then he felt somewhat relieved when it made more sense as to why he developed these abilities. He had so many questions to ask and he somehow felt more willing to share the news of his powers with his parents now.

He heard a knock on his door and saw his father poke his head inside.

"Hey, I'm going to turn in for the night. Are you ok?" Harry asked him.

James' heart sank, he thought for sure his father was coming to talk to him about what happened earlier, which would prompt him to tell him about his powers.

"Uh, yeah," James said. Harry nodded and went to leave when James spoke up. "Are you?"

Harry stopped for a moment and then took a few steps into his bedroom. "I'm fine. Listen, James, what happened tonight... I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh." James gave a disappointing sigh. "Can I ask why not?"

"No, but you just did," Harry said with a slight smirk. "James, I never said anything about my powers because... they just... " Harry trailed off as he tried to find his words. "I just hate having them, they have caused more harm than good. I can't embrace them as Draco and Ginny have... I just can't. So let's just forget what you saw tonight... please." he said before he turned to leave.

"How do you control them?" James suddenly asked, making Harry stop once more. "For so long you've never let them slip, how is that?"

Harry didn't turn around, he kept his back towards his son as he closed his eyes tightly as a dark memory flashed through his mind. "After realizing how deadly they can be, it made it easier to keep them under control." He walked out into the hall and gave James one last look. "Goodnight, James," he said before he shut the door.

Once Harry left his bedroom, James wasn't sure how to feel. He thought a conversation with his father about his powers was going to give him insight and a sense of relief, but if anything it made him feel worse. Maybe there was nothing special about his powers at all, maybe he was just filled with this deadly gift as his father put it. He wanted to know more about his dad's experience with developing his powers and how to control them, but his last hope of trying to do that seemed to be completely gone.

* * *

Ginny woke up the next morning to a small knock on her bedroom door. She turned over to see Draco was already up and then sat up and looked at the clock to see it was a little past nine.

"Come in."

Ellie walked into the bedroom and just stood by the door, her eyes firmly planted on her mother.

"Hey, baby, what's up?"

Ellie took a few steps towards her before she stopped. Ginny noticed this and then realized what she must look like to Ellie. Her eyes and skin must be a monstrous sight for her and she quickly grabbed her wand in an attempt to put some concealment charms up. The only problem was that they didn't last hardly at all anymore.

"Mum, it's fine... you don't have to do that," Ellie said before she walked the rest of the way over and sat on the end of the bed.

"I don't want you to see me like this."

Ellie took the wand from her and placed it aside. "Mum, you're not a monster. In fact, what you should be doing is remaking all the pancakes that Dad screwed up this morning." she laughed.

Ginny gave a small giggle before they both fell silent.

"I'm sorry, Mum," Ellie said suddenly, her voice cracking.

Ginny just looked at her. "For what?"

"I did this to you when you tried to help me... I'm so sorry."

Ginny grabbed her into a hug. "There is nothing you have to be sorry for. You didn't do anything to me, I promise. Something else happened Ellie... and it has nothing to do with you. Your powers were just too strong for you to contain and your body was trying to fight each one off because you had both. I think now you will have a good median and they will come to you again in the most amazing way." Ginny said to her with a smile.

Ellie hugged her harder, she loved her conversations with her parents, they always made her feel better. "Thanks, Mum. Now can you please make breakfast?"

"Of course, come on," she said.

She slipped out of bed and pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She felt a lump form in her throat at the sight of her reflection and then felt Ellie grab her hand to pull her along.

Ginny made her way downstairs into the kitchen where she stopped and watched Draco from the doorway. An overwhelming sense of guilt filled her when she could see the concern on his face as he was deep in thought.

"I heard you could use a hand down here?" she said with a small smile, walking up beside him.

He turned to look at her, surprised she decided not to use any concealment charms on herself in front of the kids. She noticed his surprise and looked away from him, she knew she looked like some kind of demonic creature.

"They haven't been holding up very long and-"

She was cut off by his lips against hers as he pulled her into his arms. His hands cupped her face so gently that her body begged for him to hold her tighter.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered to her, making her smile against his lips, which prompted him to kiss her again, this time more aggressively.

"Mum, I asked you to help Dad make breakfast, not snog him senseless." Ellie giggled.

They broke apart before Ginny looked over the mess on the stove that Draco was attempting to pass off as breakfast.

"You must be stressed my love, because I know you can do better than this." Ginny teased him.

After Ginny managed to get some decent breakfast prepared, she followed Draco into the dining room and took a seat at the table. Everyone fell silent at her appearance.

"Well Good Morning to you all too," she said.

"Sorry Mum," they all said.

"How are you feeling?" Ember asked her.

"Better, a little annoyed and on edge, but... I don't think that's going to go away anytime soon," she mumbled more to herself. "Anyway, I know last night was scary for you all and I'm so sorry that you had to witness that. If you guys have any questions, your father and I will do our best to answer them," she said.

She knew they must have a million questions about what was going on with her. There were so many things left to discuss with all the chaos going on and she knew it was only a matter of time before they started demanding answers.

"Well, we all were kind of wondering about something," Ember said.

"Of course, what is it?" Ginny asked.

"What are we doing for Aurora's birthday?" she asked with a smile.

Ginny's heart melted at her question. Of all the horrid questions she dreaded her children asking her and this was the one they chose to ask. She knew they wanted to get back to their normal lives as much as she and Draco did.

"That's a great question... what would you like to do, baby?" she asked, turning to Aurora.

"Actually, I think I just want a simple family gathering. I am quite alright with not having a party this year."

"Mum, why do you look like that?" Harper suddenly asked.

"Harper," Scorpius said through clenched teeth as he glared at her.

"What?" Harper asked with a shrug. "You look pretty wicked, you should kick Dad's arse every night."

"Hey, what did I do?" Draco asked.

"Well, let's start with the abomination you tried to pass off to us as breakfast."

They all laughed.

"Harper, I'm just a little sick right now... everything will be back to normal soon," Ginny reassured her.

They were all silent for a few moments before Draco spoke up. "So Aurora... something you want to tell me?" he asked her.

"I don't think so," she said, shoving some eggs into her mouth.

"Really? Hm, ok. So you don't have plans with Potter tonight?"

"Oh, yeah... our date." she simply said as she took a sip of juice. "Yeah, I asked him out. You told me to go see him."

"Yeah, as a friend, not ask him out with the potential shag session after." he snapped.

Ember, Aurora, and Scorpius started laughing at his dramatic idea of what would go down tonight between Aurora and James.

"Oh, so you don't want me to give my virginity up to James Potter tonight?" she sarcastically asked. "Good thing you clarified that, now I'll make sure I wear underwear tonight."

Draco just sneered at her comment and then at the rest of the table when they all started laughing. He turned to Ginny, who was biting her lip to keep herself from giggling.

"Well, you might as well laugh too." he snapped at her as she fell into a fit of her own laughter.

* * *

Ginny stood in the doorway of Scorpius' bedroom and watched him for a moment before he caught her staring at him.

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked when she realized he was getting ready to go out.

"I guess to look for a job since I fucked Jake over with the other one. Plus, Ember quit her other job and I rather she have it than me." he shrugged.

Ginny gave him a small smile before she walked over to him. "How are you doing?"

He knew she was asking about the situation with Noah.

He just shook his head in response. "I don't know."

She reached forward and ran her fingers through his hair before she cupped the side of his face and gave a small laugh. "Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm looking at my eighteen-year-old son."

He smiled at her comment before he looked her over for a moment. "It's so weird to see you like that."

She folded her arms and gave a sigh at his comment. "I know."

"Mum, are you going to be ok?"

She just looked at him, a lump forming in her throat. She would never want to show her children any doubt she had about the situation, but she was becoming overwhelmed with trying to hold it together.

"Honestly, I don't know." she choked out, a few tears running down her face that she quickly brushed away. "I'm sorry, Scorpius, you have so much on your mind already. Go on, I'm fine," she said with a smile.

"Mum, you don't have to baby me. I know something is wrong... really wrong. Ember and I and even Aurora... we can handle it, so let us help you."

She shook her head, "No, you guys have been going through so much lately... I don't need you guys to have any more stress."

He just looked at her, his parents were two of the strongest people he knew. They never let any of their problems or worries known to him or any of his sisters. Every day was always filled with so much love from both of them. Seeing his mother like this, almost broken, killed him and he wanted to help.

He wrapped her up in a hug and held her tightly. "What can I do to help, Mum?"

She pulled back a bit and just looked at him. "Nothing love... especially with everything going on right now with you. I really would like for you to just lay low, in fact, maybe go see Raven and skip your job search for today."

"I don't know if I can do that," he said, looking away from her.

"Why not?"

"Because Mum... just because."

She just gave him a small smile before she placed a kiss on his forehead. "Go on... you should go see her."

He locked eyes with her dark black ones before he gave a small nod.

* * *

Draco made his way to the front door at the sound of the bell and gave a sigh when he saw James.

"The day I've dreaded for a while now was the day you finally won my daughter over enough to take her out." he drawled.

"A pleasure as always to see you, kind Sir," James said sarcastically as he gave a dramatic bow.

Draco just shook his head in annoyance. "Where are you two going?"

"Oh, I figured we'd just hit the hotel up the road... have her back in about an hour." James shrugged with a wide grin.

Draco just smirked at his comment before he took a step forward onto the front step and closed the door behind him.

"I was just kidding," James said, holding his hands up as he took a step back.

Draco just rolled his eyes. "Relax, I know you're kidding because if I didn't think you were, you'd be clutching a bloody broken nose right now. How did your father take the news about your powers?"

James looked at the ground. "He took it really well."

"Well, that's good."

"Because I didn't tell him." James finished as he looked back up at him.

"What? Why not?"

James just let out a frustrated sigh before he took a seat on the steps. "He barely discussed what happened that night... he didn't want to talk about it. He made it known that he doesn't share the same views on his powers as you and Ginny do. He seems afraid of them. How could I tell him after that?"

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he took a seat beside James. He knew Harry went through some stuff years back with his powers that caused his current feelings about his powers. He wished James would just tell him so that Harry could guide him better. He remembered how scared and uncertain he was of his powers when he first found out about them. He hated to see James struggling like he was when his own father could be helping him through this.

"Listen, Kid, it's not my place to tell you what happened with your father, but I just want to shed some light on why he feels this way about his powers." Draco cleared his throat, unsure of whether he should share the information he had with James. "When my father was still alive and Death Eater camps were set up all over the bloody country... me, your father, Ginny's brothers and some other friends and people from the Order were sent out to take down some of them. Long story short, your father was put in a position where he had to save me or one of his fellow Gryffindor mates... his name was Dean Thomas."

Draco stopped for a few moments as the memory replayed in his head. He could still hear Dean begging Harry not to let him go. "Anyway, he wasn't able to save us both and Dean died and your father had a hard time getting past that. It's probably a big contributing factor that really brought the full potential of his powers about. Well, a few weeks after Ginny and I got married, Dean's parents suddenly started demanding answers about their son's death and rightfully so. Harry thought it best to come clean to them about what happened and they became vengeful and wanted justice. They blamed Harry and it became... it became really ugly, your father was broken. Luna was also pregnant with you during this time and your father started having trouble controlling his powers... it was a mess."

"So what happened?" James asked, his eyes pleading with him for more information.

Draco just looked at him for a moment before he continued. "Dean's parent's became consumed with grief... especially Dean's father. He had it out with Harry numerous times at the Ministry, in Diagon Alley once, he even went to his house and threatened him. Then one day... your dad came home from work and Dean's father was there... inside the house with your mother, who was due to give birth to you any day. He was going to kill her and you for revenge. In his eyes that was the only way he thought it would help get him through all the heartache he was going through over the loss of his son."

Draco cleared his throat again as he thought back to that day. "Your dad was so scared he didn't think and his powers took over and he ended up killing Mr. Thomas. He also accidentally hurt Luna at the same time and she almost died... you both did. You ended up being born that night and your mum was in a coma for almost a week."

James was silent, the only thing he could think about was when he thought he almost killed Scorpius that night.

"This conversation stays between us, I shouldn't have even told you this." Draco turned a bit to face him. "Listen, James, I know I give you a lot of shit when it comes to my daughter, but at the end of the day... if you still can't talk to your dad you can come to me or Ginny and we will do our best to help. But honestly James, you need to tell your dad, he will understand more than you think he will."

James nodded.

Draco wanted to bring up the Noah situation but knew the information he shared with James was a lot to take it right now.

"Geez, Dad, I hope you're not giving him some speech." Aurora snapped as she opened the front door to find them both sitting out there.

They both stood up and James' face lit up at the sight of her. She had her hair pulled back into a loose bun with a few pieces hanging all around her face. She had a simple dress on with a pair of flats and a small sweater draped over her arm.

"Chill out, I'm not giving him a speech, unless I should?" he asked, looking at James.

"No, no, that's quite alright. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll surely kill me if I lay a finger on your daughter," he said with a wide grin.

"Very good and put that sweater on," Draco said to Aurora nodding to the one over her arm.

She rolled her eyes and slipped it on before she caught James staring at her. "What?" she asked with a smile.

"You're just so beautiful," he said.

She couldn't help the blush that came to her cheeks and then bit her lip when she realized James forgot for a moment that Draco was still standing there.

"Uh, I mean you look nice," he said, clearing his throat.

Draco smirked at his attempt to cover up his comment.

"Let's get going," Aurora said as she quickly started walking away from the house, dragging James with her.

* * *

Scorpius knocked on the door after standing in front of it for the past five minutes contemplating whether to leave or not. Just as he changed his mind and turned to leave, he heard the door open behind him.

"Scorpius?"

He turned around to see Blaise standing there.

"Good evening Mr. Zabini, I was just wondering if I might be able to talk to Raven for a moment?"

Blaise was silent for a few seconds, he hadn't seen Scorpius since the birthday party. The memory of Scorpius saving him and his daughter's life ran through his head.

"Come in," he said as he opened the door all the way and took a step aside. "Her room is down the hall and to the right... don't get any ideas." Blaise said coldly as he gave him a hard glare.

Scorpius nodded before he walked down the hall and gave a soft knock on Raven's door. She gave a bright smile when she saw it was him.

"Scorpius, it's nice to see you," she said before she grabbed him into a hug.

He walked into her bedroom and took a seat at her desk as she took one on the bed. "I'm sorry I've been so distant lately. I really miss you."

She just sat there and gave him a small smile. "I missed you too. I never apologized to you either... I'm sorry I was weird about your powers. I hope I didn't offend you by acting that way."

"Pft, please... me offended?" he said with a smirk.

She got up and walked over to him. "Can we start hanging out again?" she asked, her green eyes pleading with him.

"I would love that."

She closed the distance between them as she placed her hands on the back of the chair he was in and leaned down to kiss him.

He didn't expect her to be so forceful, but he could tell by the way she kissed him that she missed him a great deal. He couldn't help his hands from grabbing her closer to him so that she was sitting on his lap straddling the chair. It had been so long since he was intimate with Raven and he forgot just how much he was crazy about her. His hands grabbed her hips and slid to her ass as he pulled her closer to him. He felt her fingers run through his hair and the other one cup his chin as she pushed her lips hard against his once more.

His heart started racing when he saw her pull her shirt off without another thought and hungrily kissed him again. He felt her push her hips against his and he let out a light growl as he realized if he didn't stop now he wouldn't be able to at all.

"Raven, wait," he said as he gently grabbed her arms and held her still before she attempted to kiss him again.

She just looked at him, her dark hair lying across her chest; his eyes taking in the lacy purple bra she was wearing.

"Raven..." he trailed off before he just lightly shook his head no to her. "Not yet. I mean... I want to... so badly it's killing me. I just need some time. Plus your dad is right down the hall and I don't feel like dying tonight."

She gave him a smile before she nodded that she understood and then slipped her shirt back on. Scorpius stood up and grabbed her to him, tasting her lips one more time before he finally released her.

"Dinner at the Manor tomorrow?" he asked her.

She gave a wide smile. "Of course, I'll be there."

* * *

Draco peeked his head into Ava's room to see she was fast asleep before he headed over to Harper's room and saw she was passed out across her bed with a book on Quidditch under her face. He gave a small smile before he headed to his bedroom in search of Ginny.

"Harper fell asleep reading about Quidditch again," he laughed before he realized she wasn't in the bedroom. "Ginny?"

He checked the bathroom and then walked back out into the hall. "Ginny!" he called out again.

He went to go check downstairs when he saw a light shining into the hallway from an open door. As he approached the room, he realized it was his old bedroom and sure enough there inside was Ginny. She was looking in the mirror across the room at herself and her eyes traveled up to Draco's reflection that prompted her to turn around.

"Ava still sleeping?" she asked in a soft voice.

He nodded as he took a few steps into the room. "Wow, I haven't been in here in years," he said, looking around the room.

It was, of course, a lot different now and just used as a guest room, but there were definitely a lot of memories in here.

Ginny walked over to the couch and just stared down at it. "This is where you first kissed me." she smiled to herself.

A smirk crossed his lips as he thought back to that day. He watched her walk over to the spot beside the couch where she stopped and looked at the floor.

"And this is where you and Hermione pulled that poison arrow out of my shoulder."

He locked eyes with her. "Not the fondest of memories, but still a memory nonetheless," he said.

She just shook her head. "I feel like we are reliving the past... and that scares me," she said in a small voice.

He took a few more steps towards her. "Ginny we are not reliving the past. We are going to be fine... you are going to be fine," he reassured her.

"Please, Draco, stop it. Please just be honest with me."

"I am."

"You're not! You're only telling me what you think I want to hear and that's not helping."

"Fine Ginny, I don't know what's going to happen ok? I'm scared for you... for the kids. Everything is a mess and I don't know how to fix it. Is that what you want to hear?" he angrily asked her.

"Kind of yes, because now I know that I'm not the only one who doesn't know what to do and somehow... that makes me feel a little better." she said, wiping a stray tear from her face.

He just gave her a sad look.

"Look at me Draco... I scare myself just looking at my reflection. I could barely put our daughter to sleep without hurting her. I use to be able to rock her to sleep, now she just falls asleep on her own because I can't even touch her long enough without worrying I'll burn her alive."

"Ginny-" He went to take a step towards her when she backed away.

"No, I don't want to hurt you." she cried as she clutched her hands close to her chest.

He reached forward and grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her to him. "Ginny, stop it."

She tried to pull her hands from his grip, but he wanted her to stop pushing him away.

"GINNY JUST STOP!" he yelled at her.

She just stared at him as a few tears spilled down her face. He cupped her face and with his thumbs and wiped away her tears.

"Stop it," he whispered to her. "You won't hurt me... I promise," he said before he pressed his lips against hers.

Draco wasn't sure what it was that made this particular kiss send him to a different state of mind. He always wanted Ginny in his arms, to have his lips on hers and her body against his drove him crazy, but recently their contact had been limited. The fact that he wanted her so badly and her powers kept getting in the way, made him want her that much more.

He kissed her again and she happily kissed him back, forgetting the dried up tears on her face. He could feel the temperature change in her body already and it kept pushing him further and further to the edge. He felt the burning sensation beneath his fingertips, but he refused to break contact with her. He allowed her hands to snake around his neck even though the heat intensified as he continued to taste her lips.

He let his powers surface to offset her fiery touch, but soon he could see her flaming hair start to whip wildly around her. Her hands starting to release a small flame as she tried to hold him close to her. He finally broke away with a slight hiss of pain as he took a step back from her. They were both breathing heavily and she took a small step towards him, afraid she might've really hurt him.

"Draco?"

He lifted his gaze to meet hers, the look in his eyes made her heart race. She was afraid she pushed him too far when she saw his eyes turn to these two icy orbs staring back at her.

"Draco?" she called to him.

He wasn't even touching her yet and she could feel the ice running through her and the pleasure it sent throughout her body had her release a small moan. Her black eyes locked with his ice covered ones and suddenly he had his lips on hers again. This time it was rough and fast and she loved every bit of it. His hands were all over her body, they were ice cold and her body was boiling hot. She felt her back hit the wall hard as he pushed her against it and practically ripped her shirt off. His mouth traveled her body, every kiss his lips pressed against her left a small sting of pain from how freezing cold he became.

She undid his pants and let them fall to the floor, she hadn't even noticed her clothes were completely off at this point also. She felt his body against hers again, she could feel the frost starting to cover her body, but it wasn't her powers... it was all Draco. She was so cold that her body started to tremble against him, but it was somehow the most thrilling thing she had ever felt. She pushed him away suddenly as she tried to catch her breath.

He just stared at her, his eyes locked on her and only her. If she didn't know how badly he wanted her right now she would have slightly been concerned he would hurt her.

He watched her trembling lips catch her breath, she was so cold he could see every breath leave her body. The room fell silent, the only noise was the sound of ice covering the floor beneath them.

A shiver ran through Ginny's body and the ice beneath her feet started melting. She took one final look at Draco before she leapt on him. He grabbed her to him as her legs wrapped around his waist and he spun around and threw her down on the bed. He was on top of her before she had a chance to attempt to sit up. Her legs welcomed his intrusion as he grabbed her and pulled her closer to him. As soon as he pushed himself into her, her hands latched onto his back and any trace of coldness inside of her disappeared and was replaced by a raging inferno. Flames danced across the bed and up the walls until the room was filled with a blazing fire.

Both of them were completely lost in each other as they fought to overpower the other. Every thrust into her made the fiery blaze start to slow down and freeze in place. Waves of ice covered jagged flames covered the floors and walls of the room.

Ginny finally turned him over onto his back and straddled him as she lowered herself onto him again. She soon reached her climax and threw her head back in satisfaction as her fiery strands whipped flames across the room before it fell over her pale shoulder. Her deadly eyes stared down at him as she felt his release inside of her.

They both just stared at each other trying to catch their breath. When she noticed his eyes hadn't changed back yet she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his earlobe.

"Come back to me," she whispered softly to him.

She could feel his heavy breathing start to slow down before he turned his head to look at her and she saw his eyes return to those mercury steel ones she so often got lost in.

"I love you, Ginny."

She smiled at his words. "I love you more."

* * *

"Why are you so quiet tonight?" Aurora asked with a small smile.

"Sorry, just... a lot on my mind." he sighed before he took in their surroundings once more.

He was surprised when Aurora brought them to some old abandoned church, but when he followed her up to the top he could see why. Half of the roof was caved in and missing and the view of the night sky was amazing.

"You mean like your father having powers and not saying anything to you?" she asked, looking at him with a small smirk.

"Yeah... that."

"Well, in Harry's defense... he doesn't know you have powers, I'm sure if you told him then he would have said something about his. Everyone has their reasons why they keep secrets, sometimes the truth behind them is too painful or sometimes they think they're protecting someone by keeping it to themselves."

"So why haven't you told your parents about yours? They have them, they would understand."

"I will, eventually, right now with everything going on with the Ministry and my mum... I don't want to be another burden on them," she said with a small shrug.

"You could never be a burden," he said, locking eyes with her.

She gave him a bright smile before she looked up at the night sky. "I know it's not the Astronomy tower, but the view is still beautiful," she said as laid back on the blanket they were sitting on and looked through the broken roof.

"It's perfect."

She propped herself up to look at him. "James, what happened last night when my mother tried to attack you? She could sense your powers and you were losing control. Is something going on?"

He looked away from her. "I did something... something that I'm having trouble dealing with."

"Like what?"

"I can't say," he said, shaking his head.

"James, what could you have possibly done that could be that bad? You wouldn't hurt a fly... there is nothing you could ever tell me that would make me think different," she said with a smile.

He closed his eyes tightly at her comment, he still relived that night in his head. The vision of Noah's dried up blood under his fingernails from when he slipped in a puddle of his blood. He remembered throwing his bloodstained clothes away and scrubbing it from his shoes that night. The memory of it all made him sick to his stomach.

"James?"

He looked at her and then down at his hands where a flicker of electricity ran across his palms. He quickly closed them and clutched them to his chest.

"Why are you afraid of your powers suddenly?" Aurora asked.

"I'm not." he quickly answered.

Aurora just looked at him with a smirk. "Yes, you most definitely are. Just let them out a bit, it seems like you've been holding them in too much."

He just shook his head again.

She reached forward to take his hand and he balled it into a fist to stop her. She gave him this curious look before she finally grabbed his wrist and pulled his tightly balled fist towards her.

"I trust you... open your hand."

"I can't," he whispered out.

"You can... look at me."

He slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers, they were piercing into his. "I don't want to hurt you, Aurora," he said quietly.

"You won't... you use to be so confident in your powers and had control over them, but if you're scared of them now... then you won't be able to handle them. They are a part of you, you are in control of them, not the other way... remember you told me that? That I was in control?"

He nodded.

"Now open your hand."

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and slowly opened his hand. He looked at the palm of his hand and then caught a glimpse of her face again, her eyes locked on the small ball of electricity forming in his hand. He watched it grow into a stream up over them and start to wisp around over them forming this veil of electricity.

Aurora lifted her hand and started to freeze it in place as it became this beautiful abstract thin canopy of ice over above them; the night sky still visible to them.

"Your powers are extraordinary." She said as she took in the form it took once it was frozen in place.

He looked at her like she was crazy.

"They are, just look at how amazing they are." She said looking up at the veil of ice and electricity above them.

He followed her gaze and a small smile crossed his lips. "Yeah, it is pretty neat, isn't it?"

He wanted to kiss her so badly, he hadn't kissed her since that night on the Astronomy tower and he was ten times more nervous about attempting it again.

"It's ok, you can kiss me." she suddenly said, a wide smile on her face.

"What?"

"That's what you're thinking about isn't it?" she laughed.

They were both quiet for a moment before they locked eyes once more. He finally leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against hers before he opened his eyes to look at her staring back, their faces only an inch apart. He was surprised when she pulled him the rest of the way to her and pressed her lips against his again, this time more firm and aggressive.

He had been wanting to give her a proper snog for a while but didn't want to overstep his boundaries when it came to Aurora. When he felt her tongue begging for entrance into his mouth, he was more than willing to taste more of her. Once he realized she was very much ok with him kissing her, he took the reigns a bit and cupped her face in his hands.

He thought his heart may explode with how fast it was racing, the pure amount of happiness that ran through him at feeling Aurora's lips on his was enough to last him a lifetime. He buried his fingers into her hair as he pulled her closer to him and she wasn't shy about letting her hands travel along his body.

He placed a few kisses along her neck as he felt her hands wildly run through his hair. He stopped kissing her and let out a small laugh before she started laughing with him as she realized she accidentally started causing frost to form in his hair.

"Sorry, take note that my neck is my sweet spot," she laughed as she ruffled his hair until the bits of frost fell out and melted.

"Take note? So this will be happening again then?" he smirked.

She just shook her head with a smile before he softly gave her one more kiss.

 **A/N: Ok... lots of romance and passion these past few scenes, what did you think? I would LOVE to hear what you're all thinking. What do you think of the Harry's past with Dean's Dad? What about Draco and Ginny's intimate session? I need to know!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I think it was only two people or so but I appreciate any and all feedback from you guys 3**

 **If you haven't already done so, don't forget to join my Facebook group where I post updates and chapter previews. We also talk up the story and other works I've completed. You can find the link on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Draco went into work the next day with Ginny on his mind. She wasn't herself this morning and he wasn't even sure if he should've come to work at all with everything going on with her. She was very short with him this morning and her temper was almost explosive.

He walked into the office and was surprised to see Harry there already.

"Early start I see."

Harry didn't say anything.

"Harry? Hello, POTTER!" he called.

Harry finally looked up from his paperwork. "Oh, hey."

"How long have you been here?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, a few hours."

Draco just watched him for a moment, he could tell he wasn't taking in any of the information from the file he was going through. He just kept flipping back and forth between the two same pages.

"I think you need some fresh air," Draco suggested, taking a seat behind his desk.

Harry just sighed before he leaned back in his chair. "How's Ginny?" he asked, locking eyes with him for a quick moment.

Draco knew he was actually asking how she was since he used his powers on her. "She's fine... everything else though..." he just trailed off as he shook his head.

Harry just nodded at his words, he knew what he meant without him going into detail.

"Did you ever talk to James yet about Noah?"

"I meant to... after dinner the other night, but then everything with Ginny happened and... the conversation was about something else instead."

Silence filled the room.

"Harry, what happened with Dean's father-" Draco stopped talking when he saw Harry start to shake his head, making him become annoyed at Harry's constant guilt. "Harry, you didn't kill Dean... and what happened with Mr. Thomas that night was an accident. He was going to kill Luna and James, I don't give a fuck who the guy is if it was me, I would have happily killed him for even trying. You need to stop doing this to yourself, it's been seventeen years and you've suppressed your powers and have kept them quiet, but you knew it was only a matter of time before they surfaced like this again."

"I really don't want to talk about this," Harry said, getting up and walking towards the door to leave.

"Well, you should and you should talk to James."

"Draco, I appreciate what you're saying, but I don't need parenting advice from-"

"James has powers!" Draco shouted out suddenly.

The look on Harry's face made Draco regret saying anything. He looked shocked, but there was more fear than anything.

"What?" Harry asked again, his words almost inaudible.

Draco let out a defeated sigh. "James has your powers... he's had them for a couple of months now-"

"You've known for months and you're just now-"

"No, I had no idea until about a week ago and I was giving him time to tell you. He only told me because something happened that freaked him out and-"

"What happened?" Harry asked as he closed the office door and walked back over to Draco.

"Well, apparently he almost killed my son with them, by accident of course, but it happened the night they both went to Noah's house and Scorpius almost killed him. That's why you need to talk to him, tonight. You need to put everything you feel about the past behind you and talk to him and help him because he needs you." Draco said firmly.

Harry sat back down as he took in all the information Draco was telling him.

"Have you seen them?"

"Seen what? His powers?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, just when he showed me. They seem powerful and I'm not going to lie... it was pretty awesome to watch."

Harry surprised himself when he felt a small smirk form on his lips.

"Go get some fresh air, we are having a big dinner at the Manor tonight and after that... talk to James." Draco said, giving him a hard stare.

* * *

"This coffee is only just warm. Can I please have a fresh one and make sure it's actually hot this time!" The woman snapped at the counter, handing her coffee back to Ember.

"Of course," she said with a forced smile before she turned around with a sneer on her face and walked to the back.

She wrapped her hands around the cup and let the heat from her powers warm the coffee until she saw steam start to appear on the surface.

"Ember Malfoy, are you taking advantage of your powers for convenience purposes instead of making a fresh coffee for that woman?" Jake asked sarcastically.

She jumped when she heard his voice and then a smirk crossed her lips. "It's perfectly fine, it's warm like she wants." Ember snapped.

"No, it's actually scalding hot now and it's not fresh," he said, levitating the steaming hot mug over to the sink. "Now make a fresh cup," he said firmly.

"Are you ordering me around?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm ordering you to make a fresh cup of coffee for that customer," he said with a small laugh. "I'm sure you're not used to being ordered around."

"No, I'm not," she said. "But when you do it, I kind of like it," she whispered over his shoulder before she went off to make a fresh cup of coffee.

He looked up at her retreating form and then stared at her through the small window from the kitchen. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at her comment, he liked Ember a lot, but he was a bit intimidated by her. Not because of her powers, he loved how unique she was, it was her last name that was the intimidating part. He was so worried about disappointing her in some way or messing things up that she wouldn't want to see him anymore or that her parents would forbid her from seeing him. He hadn't kissed her since their date and he wouldn't probably do it again until she initiated it, he definitely didn't want to overstep his boundaries with her, especially after everything that she told him happened with Noah.

"There, another happy customer," she said with a smile as she walked into the back again.

"Well, I wouldn't say happy, she still looks irate." he laughed.

Ember shrugged, "She'll get over it."

Jake just shook his head.

"So, we are having a big dinner thing tonight at the Manor... you should come over."

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Yes, then maybe we can go back to your spot under that tree again," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. "I'd like that."

* * *

Draco had just gotten home from work and was on his way to his bedroom when he saw Ellie standing in one of the hall bathrooms with the faucet running. She was just staring at it, she seemed to be in deep concentration.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he walked over to her.

She quickly snapped her head up at the sound of his voice before she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm just trying to conjure up my powers. I don't understand Dad, I feel them, but nothing is happening," she said, looking at the water once again as she tried to freeze it.

Draco smirked at her words. He was glad Ellie wasn't afraid of her powers after everything she went through with them.

"Just give it time Ellie, they will surface again," he said as he touched the faucet and made the running water turn into a long icicle before he broke it off and handed it to her. "Just be patient."

"Thanks, Dad," she said before she gave him a quick hug and headed down the hall.

He watched her for a moment before he continued on towards his bedroom. He walked in to see Ginny walking out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"Oh, I guess I got home at the perfect time." he joked as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

"Ha. Ha." she sarcastically said. "I'm actually trying to use some kind of concealment charm so I won't scare all our company off tonight, but... no luck. Guess I'll just be this hideous beast forever." she sighed before she stood in front of the mirror once more.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed a few kisses on her bare shoulder.

"You're gorgeous to me, black eyes and all," he said as she turned around to face him.

"Pft, please, I'm just an evil, monstrous, bad-tempered bitch these days."

He pulled her closer to him. "Yes, but you're my bitch," he smirked before he undid her towel and watched it fall to the floor.

She watched him look her naked body up and down before his eyes locked with hers. She could tell both of their minds went back to their intimate encounter from the previous day. Her body covered in goosebumps just from the memory of it; the way it made her feel was something she wouldn't soon forget.

"What are you thinking right now?" she whispered to him.

He took a few steps towards her, forcing her to back up against the wall. She felt him slide his hands down her back and cup her ass tightly.

"Why don't you tell me what you're thinking about," he whispered back before he started to kiss her neck.

She let out a soft moan. "I'm thinking about the way you make me feel."

"And how's that?" he asked her, his warm breath hitting her bare chest now before he covered one of her nipples with his mouth.

She took in a sharp breath at the unexpected pleasure that ran through her body. She looked at him again, his eyes filled with this yearning for her. She would have thought Draco would be more hesitant about being so close to her like this in the condition she's been in. She thought he would feel a bit unsure or the tiniest bit intimidated by how her powers were affecting her, but he wasn't. If anything, the way he looked at her and wanted her made her feel intimated and for some strange reason, she loved that he had that kind of effect on her.

"Fuck me." she breathed out suddenly as her body grew hot against his.

He smirked at her comment. "Are you asking me to fuck you or are you telling me to?"

She was breathing heavily as he continued to kiss her breast. She reached forward and practically ripped his pants open before she gave him a deadly glare.

"I'm telling you... fuck me," she said firmly.

The words barely left her mouth before he picked her up, letting her legs wrap around his waist as he pinned her against the wall. He pushed himself into her hard and fast and she welcomed every thrust into her. He could feel how much she wanted him, the feel of her hands and nails grabbing him to her fueled his desire to please her. Every moan she let out made him lose more control as his hands turned cold.

As soon as she felt his body turn cold, he could feel herself getting ready to orgasm already. He could feel her squirming against him as he continued to pound into her and soon he felt her release around his rock hard cock. He kept pushing into her, although her body continued to tremble from her climax still.

The overwhelming pleasure she felt made her try to instinctively push him back a bit, but he pinned her hands above her head with one hand as he continued to fuck her. After a few moments her body gave in once more and the noises she released made Draco have to cover her mouth from how loud she got. She finally felt him explode inside her, the feeling of his throbbing cock making her orgasm again.

There was a knock on the door suddenly.

"Mum... Dad? Grandma and Grandpa are here." Harper said through the door.

Ginny locked eyes with Draco. "Ok, we'll be right out!" she called before he leaned forward and kissed her softly.

* * *

"Hello, my Ginbug, how are you feeling?" Arthur asked, squeezing her tightly.

"I'm ok Dad, what about you? You're looking a bit rough today." Ginny said, taking in her father's exhausted appearance.

"I am hanging in there, just very tired this evening," he said, waving his hand at her as always to dismiss it. "Besides, you look worse than me." he teased, making her shoot him a slight smirk.

"Where's Mum?"

"Already in the kitchen seeing what else needs to be done of course," he said with a light chuckle.

Ginny turned her attention to the front door when she saw Harry and Luna walk in.

"Hey guys, just in time, dinner will be ready soon. Everyone's inside." she nodded towards the dining room.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there," Harry said to Luna.

He turned his attention back to Ginny as they both just stood there for a moment in silence.

"I'm sorry." they both said in unison before they exchanged a small laugh.

"I'm sorry about using my powers on you like that," Harry said.

"There's nothing to apologize for, I'm glad you did... I don't know what would have happened," she said, turning her gaze towards the floor. "If I would have hurt James or one of the kids..." she trailed off before he pulled her into a hug.

"But you didn't." he softly reminded her.

"I know, but I could've. Harry... something is really wrong with me." she quietly said.

She felt him hug her tighter before she finally broke the hug and turned towards James and Aurora making their way downstairs.

Harry couldn't help but just stare at his son, the conversation he and Draco had earlier had been weighing on his mind.

"Dad? Are you ok?" James asked.

"What? Oh yeah, can I talk to you for a second?" Harry said waving him over.

James made his way over as Ginny and Aurora made their way into the dining room.

"What's up?"

"I was hoping to talk to you when I got home from work, but you left earlier than us."

"Yeah, I just figured I'd hang out with Aurora for the day... just get my mind off of some things."

Harry nodded. "Listen... I think later after dinner when we get back home the two of us need to have a long talk."

James just stared at him for a moment. He was hoping it was about his father's powers so that he could start telling him about his own. To be able to talk to his father openly about his powers and have any feelings of uncertainty laid to rest would be a huge burden off of his shoulders.

"Alright, sounds good," he said before his dad pulled him into a hug.

* * *

Dinner that night was just like Ginny remembered it being only a few weeks ago before all the chaos started. She had almost forgotten that she was slowly losing control and how awful she must look to her family and friends.

She had started clearing the table and made her way to the kitchen when she almost dropped a plate, but someone caught it before it hit the floor.

"Let me give you a hand," Jake said as he was making his way back towards the dining room.

Ginny just stared at him for a moment, her last encounter with him was when she found out Warren was his father.

"Oh, thanks," she said as he followed her into the kitchen. "You can just put them down right here."

He placed the dishes down on the counter and went to walk away when he stopped and looked at her again. "Mrs. Malfoy... I just wanted to apologize to you for upsetting you that night I was over about bringing up my father."

She just stared at him again. "What makes you think I was upset?"

"Well, it was pretty obvious. I really appreciated the offer your husband extended about finding out information about him, but I think maybe it's best not to know."

She just nodded before he turned to leave.

"He's dead," Ginny said suddenly, making him stop and then turn to look at her. "Your father... he's dead. He was killed." she continued.

He just nodded at the information, he assumed he was dead all this time. "Do you know who killed him?"

Ginny just shook her head, she couldn't tell him that it was her that killed his father.

"No."

He just nodded again. "Anything else I can help with?"

She shook her head as he started to leave. "Jake?" He stopped and turned back to her. "Thank you for being so nice to Ember, she hasn't smiled this much in a long time."

He just smiled at her comment. "Honestly, it's I who should be thanking you for allowing me to hang out with her... she's extraordinary," he said.

The sound of the doorbell and a loud, hard knock filled the hallway, making them both walk towards the front door.

"Are you expecting someone?" Ginny asked Draco, who met her in the foyer.

"Nobody I invited anyway." he drawled before he opened the door.

His heart sank when he saw who it was. "Minister Beckett? What brings you here?"

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, I wouldn't normally make an appearance for something like this, but I felt my presence may be needed in case things got... out of control."

"Out of control?" Ginny asked.

Mr. Beckett took in her appearance before his eyes traveled to the crowd forming in the hallway. "Oh good, Mr. Potter, you're here as well," he said before he stepped aside and four Aurors made their way inside.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" one of them said.

Scorpius' stomach dropped before he took a step forward.

"You're under arrest for the murder of Noah Adwell."

Draco jumped between Scorpius and the man before he could bind his son. "I expect you have evidence to back this up?" he said with a sneer.

"Indeed Mr. Malfoy," said Mr. Beckett, walking up to him. "Now step aside."

Draco turned to Scorpius, he wanted so badly to grab him into a hug and keep him safe, but he knew there was nothing he could do right now. He tried to think of something encouraging to say to him, but the look Scorpius gave him ripped his heart apart. They both knew there must have been a great deal of proof for Aurors to show up and arrest him on the spot.

The one man walked behind Scorpius and put a binding charm on his hands. "Scorpius Malfoy you're under arrest for the murder of Noah Adwell and will be immediately escorted to Azkaban Prison where you will await..."

Scorpius drowned out the rest of the words the man said, all he could think about was how he was responsible for killing someone. How he was now... a murderer... a killer. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, his eyes locked with Raven for a moment as a look of shock covered her face. The look of surprise and fear on his sisters' faces made it hard for him to even keep his head up. He felt like such a disappointment to them as a brother, a disappointment as a son... to everyone.

"No, please don't take him, stop!" Ginny cried, as she went to grab Scorpius back to her but Draco pulled her to him before she could attempt it.

"Ginny, we need to stay calm... you need to stay calm. We can't help him if you give them a reason to turn any more on us. Do you understand?" Draco whispered in her ear firmly.

She looked at him, tears in her eyes before she nodded.

"Don't forget the other one." Mr. Beckett said as he nodded towards James.

Another Auror grabbed James roughly by the arm and Harry shoved him off of him.

"My son has done nothing wrong," Harry argued.

"Your son helped Mr. Malfoy kill a young man... I think there is plenty wrong in that." Mr. Beckett said.

"He's only sixteen; you can't send him to Azkaban," Hermione said anger apparent on her face.

"Ah, but he does turn seventeen in just under a week... I'm sure it won't be an issue. Bind him and if you intervene again Mr. Potter I will have you arrested as well and you'll be dismissed from your job at the Ministry." Mr. Beckett warned.

"Harry, what is going on?" Luna cried.

The Auror grabbed James once more and bound his hands and read him the charges. James eyes locked with one person and one person only in that room and that was Aurora. Their conversation still ringing in his ears, the memory of their date flooded his mind. The look of disbelief on her face shattered his heart and he was forced to look away from her.

"Wait!" Ember yelled, as she ripped her arm from Ron's grip and ran to her brother. She hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry Scorpius, this is all my fault." she cried quietly in his ear.

She felt someone grab her arm again and she realized it was another Auror.

"We'll also be taking Ember with us for questioning." Mr. Beckett explained before he nodded for them to start heading out.

Ginny couldn't help the instincts that kicked in, she felt herself wanting to set every one of those men on fire. Seeing her son being dragged out of their home and sent off to Azkaban wasn't something she could just stand by and watch, she didn't care what he had done. Before she could even let her powers fully surface, she was hit hard with a disabling charm that brought her to her knees.

Mr. Beckett pocketed his wand. "I would get that under control, Mrs. Malfoy, before I return for you as well," he warned her before his eyes fell on Draco once more. "You know as Minister of Magic I must abide by all Wizarding laws and although both of your names are well established with the Ministry and the Wizarding World... a crime is a crime and it doesn't matter what your last name is... justice will be served," he said looking from Draco to Harry.

They left the Manor as Ginny pulled herself to her feet again and attempted to run after them when Draco grabbed her again.

"No! Scorpius! Stop!" she yelled.

Once the front door closed the entire Manor fell silent, all of them staring at the front door as if it was all just a misunderstanding and Scorpius and James would be running back through them again.

"I'll head down to the Ministry and see what's going on," Hermione said wasting no time before she left the Manor.

"Draco, dear, why don't I take the kids back with me for the night?" Molly suggested.

Draco nodded at her words as he held Ginny in his arms as she silently sobbed.

"Come on, children, let's go have some dessert at Grandma and Grandpa's," she said loudly as she gathered all her grandchildren up and left the Manor with them.

* * *

Ember kept wiping the tears from her eyes as she waited in the small room for someone to question her. She felt so guilty for going to Scorpius in the first place about what Noah did to her and implying that he pay for what he did. She never thought Noah would end up dead over it, especially by her own brother.

"Good Evening Miss Malfoy, my name is Auror Stephenson and this is Auror Rolon. We just want to go over a few things with you." the man said as he took a seat and the other man stood in the corner.

She saw him pull a small vial from his pocket and place it in front of her. "Do you know what this is?"

She nodded.

"Very good, so it's my hope that you'll cooperate so we won't have to use Veritaserum on you. Because we both know I could get you to tell me a lot more than I need to know from you right now."

She nodded again before she quickly wiped another tear that slid down her cheek.

"So let's get started. Let's start with some basics, how did you and Noah Adwell know each other?"

"From school."

"Hogwarts right? And you two were dating... yes?"

She nodded.

"Were you guys still together before today?"

"No.," she said in a small voice.

"So your relationship with Noah was over... when did that end?"

She closed her eyes tightly and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don't know... a few days before he was hurt maybe."

"Interesting, we have confirmation from some witnesses that say you and Noah were still a couple up to the day right before he was attacked."

She shook her head. "I mean... I guess... I can't remember."

"Ok, why don't you tell me why the relationship ended... who ended it?"

"I ended it."

"Why?"

She became angry at the question. "Because... because we wanted different things." she finally said.

"Like what?" the man pressed on.

Ember grew annoyed; she knew he knew the answer already. "Because he wanted to have sex with me and I didn't, ok? He was forcing it on me and I became quite uncomfortable and I ended things right then and there."

"So do you think Noah would have sexually assaulted you had you not stopped him?"

"I don't think so, I mean... I don't know... maybe? He just..." she trailed off when she felt an enormous amount of pressure come over her. "Why does that matter? The point is that he tried to force himself on me and I broke up with him for it. He was only using me." she said in a small voice. "You know the answers already so why are you even wasting your time asking me?" she snapped suddenly.

"You're right, I do know the answers, but I want to see if our answers match up, to see if you're lying."

"Well, I'm not."

"Not yet. Why don't you tell me why you asked your brother to kill Noah?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "I didn't."

"See now our answers don't match."

"But I didn't ask him to kill him... I-I just vented to him about what happened... and..." she wasn't sure what to say, she didn't want to get any more of them in trouble.

"Listen Ember, your brother is going to Azkaban for murder... unless Jack Adwell drops the charges and makes a request on your brother's behalf for some type of leniency... there's no helping him and I think we both know that won't ever happen."

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks at his words before he started to continue his questioning.

* * *

Silence filled the dining room at the Manor that night as Draco and the others sat around the table; each one of them deep in thought about the events from earlier.

"How long have you both known about this and said nothing to me about it?" Luna asked, her tone angry, which was very rare.

Luna was not an angry person at all, but the fact that her son was dragged off to Azkaban for murder was hard for her to take in.

"We weren't sure of anything yet and I wanted to talk to James before I told you about it." Harry tried to explain.

"I'm his mother Harry, why the hell would you not tell me something like this?"

The room grew quiet once more until they all turned their heads towards Hermione returning from the Ministry.

"Did you see them?" Ginny asked.

"No, they brought them both straight to Azkaban. I reached out to Kingsley to see if there was anything he could help with. I spoke to Minister Beckett and he agreed to let you see them tomorrow."

Ginny let out a tiny sigh of relief when she found out she could see Scorpius tomorrow. She needed to make sure he was ok, although she knew he wouldn't be, she just had to see him.

"And Ember?" Draco asked.

"They were still questioning her when I left."

"What about proof or evidence? Was anything mentioned?" Harry asked.

"I have some information, but I had to break into an office or two to get it. The ward around the house isn't really anything I've seen before. I couldn't get details, but I just know it picked up Scorpius and James entering the wards and breaking into the house. It's like the ward has a memory or something. The other proof came from the housekeeper that was apparently hiding in a closet. It's everything that went on inside the house that isn't clear, but... they have enough to go on." she explained.

"What about James being underage?" Luna asked.

"Yes, I did address that, but Minister Beckett said that he doubts snapping his wand in half is punishment enough to keep him from murdering someone else."

"But he didn't murder anyone... Scorpius did." Harry said, shooting a deadly glare at Draco.

"I'm well aware of that Potter," he said with a sneer.

"Why should my son be sent to Azkaban because of something your son did?" Harry snapped.

"Nobody dragged him along, he went willingly, he's old enough to make his own decisions."

They were both out of their seats at this point arguing back and forth.

"STOP IT!" Ginny yelled. "Are you kidding me? Our kids are sitting in Azkaban right now for murder and you two are going to argue over who is responsible? They both messed up, even if James didn't initiate the attack, he was still there and took part... he's just as guilty." Ginny stated, her eyes daring Harry to try and pin the whole thing on her son again.

Draco and Harry finally sat down and the room grew silent again.

"I'm going to pick up Bella, I'll see you back at the house," Luna said quietly before she quickly left the Manor, a few tears falling down her face.

Hermione let out a soft sigh. "Listen, guys, I will do everything I can to help and find any loopholes to help them... I promise."

They all nodded.

"Come on Ron," she nodded for him to follow her home. "I'll meet you guys at the prison tomorrow around ten."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said before she and Ron left. "I guess I'll see you there." Harry quickly said before he got up to leave.

"Harry, wait." Draco stopped him.

They both stood there looking at each other unsure of what to say. Eighteen years ago Draco would just have wanted to deck him in the face and vice versa, but as much as he hated to admit it, Harry was his best mate now.

"I'm really sorry that James got mixed up in this," Draco said, looking down as he realized how horrible he felt for letting Harry's son get sentenced to Azkaban for something his son did.

"Yeah, me too, but Ginny's right. They both knew what they were doing. I just don't know what to do right now."

The only thing Harry could think about right now was the talk, he wanted to have with James tonight. When Draco told him how lost he was and needed guidance, Harry wanted so badly to rid his son of that burden and now it was too late it seemed.

There was silence yet again that filled the space between them.

"I see you tomorrow," Harry said before he left the Manor.

Draco closed the door and then turned to see Ginny standing there looking at him.

"You need to do something," she said.

"I don't know-"

"No! You need to do something!" she said loudly.

"Ginny, I know how hard this is and I'm going to try to do everything-"

"Try? No, you need to fix this... you need to get our son back home to us. He doesn't belong in prison."

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT GINNY?" he bellowed at her.

His rage only angered her more. "THEN DO SOMETHING!"

"LIKE WHAT?"

"I DON'T KNOW, YOU'RE A MALFOY FIGURE IT OUT!" she yelled.

"Mum? Dad?"

They both snapped their heads over to the front door to see Ember standing there.

"Ember... how did it go?" Draco asked.

She just lost it as her body shook with sobs and she fell to her knees. Draco and Ginny ran to her side and Ginny pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Ember cried.

"It's not, it's not your fault Sweetheart," Ginny said calmly in her ear.

Ginny's eyes locked with Draco's, an unspoken apology was exchanged between them before he wrapped his arms around them both.

* * *

Draco stood outside Azkaban Prison waiting for Ginny and Luna to show up. He and Harry hardly spoke a word to each other the whole time, they were both still trying to take the situation in.

"I told Luna about James last night." Harry finally said.

Draco looked at him. "What did she say?"

Harry just shrugged. "She was more concerned about him being in Azkaban."

"Yeah, that does seem to be the bigger problem here, doesn't it?"

There was a light pop in the distance and they watched Ginny and Luna being escorted to the entrance where they waited for them.

Draco just stopped and stared at Ginny. "Your hair... there are black streaks in it," he said.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at his words. "Yeah, I know, it's the least of my worries right now." she snapped.

Draco was forced to put any emotions he felt aside about Ginny's powers taking over her body and focus on the Prison in front of him. He and Harry had been here plenty of times to escort inmates or to just simply fill in for guard duty, but being here visiting their sons... was a whole different experience.

"Hermione, thanks for meeting us here?" Harry said.

"No problem, I just wanted to come down here to make sure they didn't give you any issues on seeing them," she said with a small smile.

"Why would there be any issues?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head as she looked down at the ground. "Because they're in solitary confinement... because of their powers."

Draco didn't think the situation could get any worse, but it did.

"How do they even know about James?" Harry asked.

"Apparently, it's in the report the night Noah was... " she trailed off before silence grew around them. "The guard right there will take you to them... you guys know the drill," she said, looking at Draco and Harry.

They both nodded and walked up to the guard and turned in their wands along with Ginny and Luna before he led the way to the cells. They walked down the long dim, cold hallway lined with sealed doors until they stopped in front of one. It was a solid metal padlock door with a tiny window that showed nothing but the pitch black that filled the room.

Watching the guard unseal the door and hearing the scraping of the heavy metal unlock made it so much more real to all of them. Draco couldn't take in that his son was being kept like this... like he was some animal, some sort of bloodthirsty killer.

"Draco?"

He heard Ginny call his name before he snapped out of his flashback from when he once visited his father in Azkaban. He took a few steps inside until a bit of the light from the hallway lit up a small section of the room where he could make out the blond hair he knew belonged to his son.

"Scorpius?"

"Dad?"

The sound of his hoarse voice reaching his parent's ears made them both run the rest of the way to him.

"Hey baby, we are here," Ginny said, throwing her hands around him.

She felt him try to hug her back, but the sound of scraping metal chains made her look at his restrained hands and feet. Ginny shook her head as tears stung her eyes.

"Hey, Scorpius, look at me," Draco said once he realized his son could barely keep his head up.

Scorpius looked up into his father's eyes.

"What did they do to you? Did they give you something?" Draco asked him as he took in his dilated eyes and tired appearance.

"We have strict orders from the Ministry to keep both of your sons on a strong sedation potion for the safety of the other inmates and guards."

"What the fuck is this?" Draco demanded. "So you have them in solitary confinement, chained up like some animal and now drugged into oblivion that they can barely hold their heads up? And he's supposed to carry out his entire sentence here like this?"

"Mr. Malfoy, I just take orders... I've known you and Mr. Potter for a long time now... you know I'm just doing my job." the man said.

"Who ordered that they be sedated?" Harry asked.

"That was strongly suggested by Jack Adwell, naturally he would have input on inmates like your sons because of their magic abilities."

Ginny held Scorpius' face in her hands and stared into his eyes. She could see the fear he had of being here like this. She placed a kiss on his forehead and then leaned down to his ear.

"Just hang in there a while more, I'm going to get you out of here... I promise," she whispered before she hugged him tightly.

"Mr. Potter, your son is down this way, if you want to see him." the guard said, leading the way a few cells down.

Harry locked eyes with Draco for a moment before he and Luna followed the man down the hall. After seeing the way they kept Scorpius locked up they knew what to expect, but when their eyes fell on James it was still just as shocking. He was being held the same way, chained and sedated just like Scorpius although he was less coherent than Scorpius was.

Luna broke down into tears as she kneeled down in front of him and cupped his slumped face.

"James?" she softly called to him.

He barely opened his eyes to look at her before they fell closed again. She cried harder at his inability to interact with her and she got up and quickly left the cell.

Harry's heart broke to see Luna so upset, this was the total opposite of how she acted. He squatted down in front of his son and took in his condition; he tried to hold it together.

"Hey, James? Can you hear me?" he called softly.

Again, James was barely able to keep his eyes open long enough to take in that his father was there in front of him. Harry rubbed his eyes hard to keep the tears that stung his eyes from falling.

"I'm sorry James, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most." he choked out before he started to cry. "This can't be it... I won't let it be."

He ran his hand through his son's hair before he placed a quick kiss on top of his head and stood up.

"I love you, James."

* * *

Draco was walking down the hall in search of Ginny before he stopped at Ember's bedroom and poked his head inside.

"Hey, have you seen your mother?"

Ember shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her since before you guys left to see Scorpius."

"Where the hell is she?" he said more to himself than to her.

He walked down the hall and then knocked on Aurora's door before he poked his head inside of her room.

"Do you know where your mum is?"

She just shook her head silently before she went back to reading her book.

He was getting ready to leave when he stopped and looked at her again. He could tell she had been crying, which instinctively made him walk over to her.

"Are you ok?"

She looked up over her book at him, her eyes instantly filled with tears and she shook her head again.

He sat down beside her and held open his arms for her to come cry in which she wasted no time doing.

"I'm so mad at him Dad... at both of them." she cried.

"I know, I want to be too, but after seeing them today..." he trailed off.

"What's going to happen to them?"

Draco didn't answer right away until he realized he didn't have an answer.

"I don't know... I really don't know."

He heard the front door open and gave Aurora one last squeeze before he got up and made his way to the foyer to find Ginny.

"Where were you?"

"I just needed to clear my head after the visit." she snapped.

He didn't say anything, he just followed her down the hall. "Do you want to talk about-"

"Talk about what? About how our son is going to rot away in a prison cell, chained and drugged for the rest of his life? Or that I'm turning into a fuckin monster that's about to explode and probably kill my entire family? Which one should we talk about?"

Draco became annoyed by her tone towards him "I'm sorry, but are you implying that what's going on is my fault? Because you sure are yelling at me like it is."

"I'm not saying it's your fault!" she shouted.

"Oh, that's right, but it is my fault now because I haven't come up with a way to fix it yet... right?" he asked as he grew angry with her.

She didn't say anything.

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO FIX IT GINNY? DO YOU THINK I JUST HAVE THE MAGICAL ABILITY TO CLEAR OUR SONS NAME AND MAKE YOU FUCKIN NORMAL AGAIN? BECAUSE IF I DID I WOULD DO IT, YOU KNOW THAT I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR ANY OF YOU!" he screamed at her.

He had more anger bottled up than he thought he did. He had tried to stay strong for everyone these past few weeks, but his emotions were starting to boil over.

She started walking away from him and he quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm to turn her around.

"Do you not believe that?" he asked her.

"Of course I do!"

"Then stop treating me like I'm the bad guy."

"Treating you like the bad guy? Draco have you seen what I look like? If anyone is looked at like the bad guy, it's me." she snapped.

"I haven't once looked at you that way," he said through clenched teeth.

"You were practically shoving sleeping draught and sedation potions down my throat the other day."

"YES, SO YOU WOULDN'T ACCIDENTALLY KILL US ALL!" he screamed at her.

"I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, I KNEW YOU WOULD START TREATING ME LIKE YOU DID THAT TIME I GOT THAT CURSED LETTER!" she exploded before she started walking down the hall again.

"WHAT? I HAVE NOT AND THAT WAS EIGHTEEN FUCKIN YEARS AGO, ARE YOU COMPLETELY MENTAL? AND JUST A REMINDER FOR YOU DARLING, YOU TRIED TO KILL THE TWINS, SO OF COURSE I KEPT YOU AWAY FROM THEM!" he roared at her.

They were face to face at this point, both of their anger turned to rage as past feelings surfaced.

"PFT, PLEASE, YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK THEY WERE YOUR KIDS!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? OH, I'M SORRY THAT I WAS BEATEN AND TORTURED WITHIN AN INCH OF MY LIFE AND SUFFERED SOME SLIGHT MEMORY LOSS FOR A FEW DAYS. SORRY FOR THE FUCKIN INCONVENIENCE!" he yelled back.

"Mum? Dad?"

"WHAT?" they yelled in unison.

They both turned their heads to see all the kids staring at them. The sounds of their argument had filled the Manor. Ginny and Draco hardly ever argued at all and if they did it was in their bedroom away from the kids.

The look of anger never left Draco's face as he sneered at Ginny before he walked away.

She felt so bad for pushing Draco to this point. Her mind was all over the place and whatever was inside her was setting her anger off.

"Everything is fine guys. I'm going to start dinner in a few moments, why don't you go wait in your rooms." Ginny said.

She watched them all walk off before she went in search of Draco. It wasn't long before she found him out in the garden sitting down on one of the stone benches.

What was she doing? Why would she bring up stuff that didn't matter? Why couldn't she stop being so angry? She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry Draco, I don't know why I said that stuff, I'm so sorry."

She was surprised when he didn't say anything and instead noticed he was crying. She quickly walked in front of him and grabbed his face to look at her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's not that, I know you didn't mean it. I just don't know how to help our son and it's killing me, Ginny. That I don't know how to help you... and I'm tired of trying to pretend that I know what to do."

She sat down next to him and held him in her arms. Draco hardly ever cried, she had only seen it a few times and every time she could feel his pain and it was horrible. She was being insensitive to his feelings, she wasn't thinking about what he was going through, not as much as she should have.

"It's going to be ok... like you said... I'm a Weasley and you're a Malfoy and we both hate to lose, so you know we're going to conquer this obstacle," she said softly.

He looked up at her before he gave her a small smirk. "Are you sure I said that?"

"Well, something like that." she smiled before she softly pressed her lips against his.

 **A/N: I know a lot happened in this chapter and things just seem to be going from bad to worse for them. What are your thoughts? Our poor Drinny is falling apart!. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I am so sorry for the late update. With working so much and the holidays it was impossible to find time to write. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 **Also, please join my Facebook page where I post updates and chapter previews. You can find the link to it on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy!**

Draco and Harry got to work early the next day to meet up with Hermione to try and find some way to help Scorpius and James. Draco's mind was on the argument he had with Ginny yesterday after the visit to Azkaban. He was concerned for her as much as Scorpius because she was losing more control every day. The temper and rage that filled her suddenly was spilling out into their relationship and he knew it was from her suppressing her powers... well trying to anyway.

"So Beckett and the Adwells are good friends?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but don't let that mislead you. Beckett has always been a by the book kind of person, he won't break Wizarding law. However, he has been known to do whatever he feels needs or should be done that would benefit the Ministry. If we could maybe present something or find a loophole that could at least get them out of there until there's a proper hearing, then it's a start." Hermione explained.

There was a knock on the door and Ember popped her head in. "Hey, just thought I'd say hello before my shift at the diner," she said walking over and taking a seat. "Any luck?"

They were all silent.

"I see," she mumbled.

"We're trying to find something that could work to our advantage," Hermione said.

All of their attention turned to the door again when there was another knock and Jack Adwell walked in. The awkward tension was almost painful to endure until Ginny walked into the office behind him followed by three other Aurors.

"Ginny? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Draco asked.

He could tell something was wrong by the look on her face; he didn't need her honey brown eyes to reflect the emotion that filled her features.

"Good morning, gentlemen... I have something that I think you both would like to see," Mr. Adwell said.

Harry and Draco exchanged a quick look before their eyes fell on Scorpius and James, who were escorted into the room. They both made a move to go grab them into a hug before Adwell stopped them.

"Not so fast."

Draco's eyes took in his son's appearance; he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he saw he was ok.

"Your wife has made a deal with me for your son's release."

The smile on Draco's face faded suddenly and he locked eyes with Ginny. "What? What kind of deal?"

Ginny wiped the stray tear that slid down her cheek away.

"She has agreed to submit herself for a full in-depth evaluation at my lab."

"What? No, Ginny is that where you were yesterday, cutting a deal with this asshole?"

"Draco, I needed to do something, look at me? I'm slipping away more and more each day, it's better this way... before I really do hurt someone," she explained.

"How long will she be there, what does this evaluation include?" Draco demanded answers.

"She will stay for as long as I find a use for her. She'll be my new little guinea pig," he said with a slight smile.

Draco made a move to punch him when he felt Harry grab him by the shirt to pull him back.

He turned back to Ginny. "Please don't do this, let us figure out something else," he begged her.

He knew once Ginny's mind was made up there was no changing it.

"Mum, you don't have to do this for me... I'm the one who should deal with the consequences of my actions... not you." Scorpius said to her.

Ginny turned to him with a small smile, her eyes falling on his still bound hands before she looked back up at him. "I do have to do this."

"Ginny, think about what you're agreeing to," Hermione said, walking over to her. "Adwell could have something up his sleeve... I mean, he rather release his son's killer just to obtain you for his experiments?" she whispered to her. "Something isn't right."

Ginny just shook her head. "It doesn't matter, all that matters is that Scorpius could go home."

Hermione and Draco just stared at her.

"I'll take Ginny's place," Draco said.

"What, no," Ginny said, grabbing his arm and pulling him closer to her. "Draco, I'm more of a danger to the kids... I should go."

"I'm not letting you do this."

"Let me help you both with this." Mr. Adwell said suddenly. "You asked me for Scorpius and James' release in exchange for you Mrs. Malfoy... correct?"

She nodded.

"And I told you that I would release your son if you agreed to turn yourself over... yes?"

She nodded again.

"Precisely... I told you that I would release YOUR son in exchange for you. Another deal is going to have to be made for dear James here."

"You knew I meant both of them," Ginny said, turning angry as her fingers curled into a tight fist.

"No, no, let's not get all riled up now," he said as he waved his hand at one of the Aurors who grabbed Ginny and placed some sort of device tightly around her neck.

"What the hell is this?"

"This is going to keep those powers of yours from surfacing, every few hours a serum will be injected that will completely disable any of your magical abilities," he explained.

Just as he said the last words, Ginny let out a hiss of pain when she felt something prick her neck from the collar around her.

"Ginny?" Draco called to her as he watched her entire appearance change back to normal.

Her eyes returned to those gorgeous honey brown ones he fell in love with, her hair as red and vibrant as he remembered and her soft pale skin was free of any of those black veins that covered her body.

"So back to business now. I have Ginny, so per our agreement..." Mr. Adwell waved his wand and Scorpius' hands were released from the bind around them. "Now onto James," he said as his eyes fell on Harry. "I think you know what I want."

"Fine, I'll do anything for you to get out of that place," Harry said as he looked at his son.

"That's great and all; however, I want Draco too... all three of you."

"No, Draco, do not agree to that." Hermione intervened as she pulled him aside. "Draco, please think this through before-"

"Fine," Draco said, ignoring Hermione.

"You can't take both of our parents, what about Ava and Harper? How long do you plan on keeping them?" Ember suddenly went off.

Adwell walked over to Ember and just stared at her. "I will take whatever I want because we all know the real reason behind why my son was killed in the first place," he said to her.

Ember took a step back and looked away from him, her eyes locking with Scorpius for a moment.

"Why us though, you had our sons to test on if you really wanted to so just curious as to why we make a difference?" Draco asked with a sneer.

"Great question Mr. Malfoy, you see when it comes to the kind of work I do... I like working with the best... top quality... and we all know just how powerful you three really are."

Draco and Harry had the same collar placed around their necks before Adwell released James' bound hands.

"So Minister Beckett is aware of this ridiculous agreement and he's fine with it?" Hermione asked.

"I have convinced the Minister how this would be beneficial to the Ministry in the long run and he was hesitant at first but we eventually saw eye to eye."

"I bet you have. Harry, Draco and Ginny have children they need to go home to, they are parents or have you already forgotten what it's like to be one of those?" Hermione snapped.

Mr. Adwell took a step towards her, his expression still calm. "Every time I walk past my son's bedroom I am reminded that I am a parent without a child any longer. So no, I have not forgotten." He turned back to Ginny, Draco, and Harry. "It's quite simple and in my opinion quite beneficial to you all. The three of you in exchange for James and Scorpius to go free. It's not like you'll never see your family again, I'm not that kind of person. The first two weeks you will stay in the lab and then after you will be able to go back home until further testing is needed. Your family is also more than welcome to come see you all anytime they wish." Mr. Adwell explained. "Now, let's get this wrapped up."

He nodded for the Aurors to lead them out of the office.

Ember, Scorpius, and James just stood there in silence, unsure of what to say or think over what just happened. Ember knew how hard her parents tried to keep them from a life of being someone's guinea pig and now it was them who ended up being one.

Hermione walked alongside them as the Aurors escorted Draco, Ginny, and Harry down the hall.

"I will be by later to see you guys and I will have more information... I promise I will do everything I can to get you guys back home. There is something very wrong with this situation... it doesn't make sense."

Draco was listening to her, but right now all he cared about was that his kids didn't have him or Ginny there.

"Hermione, please tell my mum what's going, please make sure the kids are ok?" Ginny said as she was thinking the same thing Draco was.

"Of course, you know I will. I'll go right away and I'll go to Luna too," she said looking at Harry.

He gave her a thankful nod before she watched them all be escorted out of the Ministry.

* * *

Ember walked into the kitchen to give her grandmother a hand with the dinner dishes. She could see the worry in her face, but she tried to hide it from all of them.

"Grandma, you don't have to stay here for the night, Scorpius and I have watched the girls plenty of times. You should be home with Grandpa."

"No, no, I won't leave you all." she shook her head as she started drying some dishes before one slipped from her shaky hands and broke.

Molly went to bend down to clean it when Ember placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Go home Grandma, I have everything under control. Trust me," she said with a smile.

Molly gave her a tearful nod before they exchanged a quick hug and she left the Manor.

Ember gave a soft sigh before she waved her wand to fix the plate and placed it in the cabinet. The silence that filled the Manor was hard to take in. The fact that her parents weren't here and knowing that they weren't coming back anytime soon was hitting her hard right now.

"Hey."

She turned to see Scorpius walk into the kitchen.

"You need any help?" he asked her.

She shook her head before she turned to look at him. "I'm so happy you're out of there," she said.

He didn't say anything, he took a seat on the counter next to her and she pulled herself up next to him.

"I don't know if I should be happy to be out of there... I deserve to be there. Mum and Dad shouldn't be punished for something I did. I killed someone Ember... me... How could I live with myself?"

"Scorpius you are not a killer. What happened with Noah was an accident, it's not like you went there with the intention of killing him."

"I wish that was true," he said, making her snap her head up at his words, her eyes wide. "I just went there knowing I wanted to hurt him and I didn't care how badly."

"Believe me Scorpius; you didn't want to kill him... I know you," she said, taking his hand in hers. "You are a good man, I still believe that and I always will. I don't care what you've done... it was an accident and I only see you as my brother, my best friend... not as a killer."

"Ember... Scorpius? Ava is up... she's crying." Harper said as she walked into the kitchen.

Ember and Scorpius looked at each other.

"Dish or baby duty?" Ember asked him.

He slid off the counter and took the dish towel from her. "Well, I'm sure there might be a diaper change involved so I'll let you have at it."

"Gee, thanks," she said with a smirk giving him a light shove before she left the kitchen.

* * *

His eyes fought to open as a beeping sound filled his ears. When he finally managed to open them enough, he was met with this overwhelming brightness that forced him to close them again.

Draco sat up on the bed he was in and tried to remember what happened. He looked around the room to take in his surroundings. The room surrounding him was made of what appeared to be glass. There was the bed he was sitting on and then a smaller room in the corner that had a bathroom and a place to sit. It was like a tiny apartment in this small room. Even the ceiling above him was see through. He got up and stepped closer to the secured door that locked him in there and he could see that he was indeed inside some sort of lab. Outside of the room resembled a hospital except there was a lot of Muggle technology he wasn't familiar with, some of the devices he saw he wasn't even sure were Muggle or not.

He finally saw Harry in another room connected to his on the left. There was the same glass wall between them. Draco took in the clothes Harry was wearing and then looked at himself to see he was in the same outfit. They were both wearing these light gray pants and shirt and that's when Draco saw the bandage on the crook of his arm. He peeled it off to reveal a small dot where it looked like someone had taken blood from him.

"Harry? What happened?" he asked.

Harry rubbed his face and looked around to take in his surroundings. "I don't know."

Draco took in the beeping sound again and he turned to his right where Ginny's red hair caught his attention in the room on the other side of him. He ran over and banged on the wall to wake her up.

"Ginny! Hey, wake up!" he called to her.

Ginny's eyes snapped open at the sound of Draco's voice and she quickly sat up and then regretted it right away as a searing pain ran through her head. She felt wires attached to her body, some even to her head as she took in her surroundings.

"Hey, are you ok?" he called to her again.

She closed her eyes tightly at the pain. "Yeah, I think so," she said through clenched teeth. "Where the hell are we? Is this Mr. Adwell's lab?" she asked.

"I think so; it's just... a lot different than I imagined it would be," Draco said taking another look around.

"This is a Muggle lab, it must be. This is all Muggle equipment and half of this stuff I've never even seen before... it's technology I've never seen before." Harry explained as he looked around.

The beeping Draco heard earlier started picking and he turned back to Ginny where the machine was attached to her.

"Harry, any idea why this thing is beeping?" Ginny asked him.

Harry tried to read the screen from where he was but he couldn't make it out. "I'm not sure, looks like it's your heart rate picking up."

Just as Ginny turned back to look at the machine she felt the collar around her neck inject her again with another shot to suppress her powers. She let out a light hiss of pain before she heard the beeping start to slow down again.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked her.

She nodded.

"Come here," he said to her.

She walked as far over as the wires would allow her too.

"Look at me," he said softly.

She looked up at him, her amber eyes longing for him to have his arms around her.

"It's just been a while since I've seen you back to normal... I missed it," he said to her as he took in her appearance.

She gave him a small smile before they all turned their attention to the door across the room where someone walked in. It was Robert Adwell and he stopped for a moment and looked at them all before he walked over to Ginny's room and unlocked the door.

"How did we get here? The last thing I remembered was leaving the Ministry." Ginny said.

"My brother thought it wise to take what he needed from you all while you were unconscious. Those neck devices injected a sleeping-draught into your system," he explained as he started unhooking the wires from Ginny's body.

"What is all of this?" she asked, gesturing to the wires.

"Somehow your body was fighting off the serum that was injected into your body that keeps your powers under control. It was suggested we monitor it more closely until the right dosage was used and your body responded well to it. So far it has, so all of this can come off now." he said, taking the last wire off of her.

There was a silence that filled the entire lab. Mr. Adwell finally left Ginny's room and locked the door again and he turned to them all.

"It was foolish for you to agree to something like this," he said, his face held concern for them it seemed.

"Why? What's going on? Does the Minister even know about what your brother is doing?" Draco asked.

"Whatever my brother has told you I would be very cautious on what to believe and what not to believe."

"Like what?" Draco pressed on.

Mr. Adwell took a step closer to the impenetrable wall between them. "He has no plans to release you... any of you. If for some reason they allow your children in to see you I think you need to warn them."

"Warn them? Of what?" Ginny asked; her heart was racing.

Mr. Adwell looked towards the door to make sure nobody was coming before he turned back to them. "Now that you all are out of the picture and with my brother's close relationship with Minister Beckett, it will be easy for him to persuade him. I know he will eventually agree to have every single one of your children locked up in here. Scorpius and James will end up back in Azkaban regardless of your agreement. I'm telling you this because my brother and I do not share the same views."

"You need to let us out of here, now," Harry demanded.

"I can't do that. Let me make something clear to you all. Although I know this to be the plan my brother has in motion, as of right now you three being here is a direct order from the Minister of Magic and I won't go against that. I will not go against my brother either... I may not agree with him, but if you think I'm going to be your key to getting out of here... I'm afraid you're mistaken." he said before he turned to leave the lab. He stopped and turned to them once more. "I would pretend this conversation didn't take place. The more you act like you're oblivious to the information I've given you... the better."

* * *

"Good Morning Minister Beckett, we need to talk," Hermione demanded as she stormed into his office. "And no, I will not come back later, I want to talk now," she said firmly.

"As you wish Mrs. Weasley, take a seat." he gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

"What kind of ridiculous agreement did you make with Jack Adwell? I am happy to see James and Scorpius out of Azkaban, but since when are you ok with just letting something like murder go unpunished?"

"Mrs. Weasley, it is of no business of yours to know what kind of conversations I and Mr. Adwell have."

"It is when it's my family involved!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the desk.

A slight smirk crossed his face as he felt the anger she had towards the situation fill the space between them.

"Very well Mrs. Weasley, I am, after all, a compassionate man, I would be happy to shed some light on the situation for you. Mr. Adwell has convinced me that the Malfoy family is a danger to the Wizarding World and after studying their files and knowing what I already do about their past, I would have to most definitely agree, Ginevra Malfoy being the most problematic. I personally thought we should just get rid of the problem altogether by eliminating the threat, but Mr. Adwell persuaded me to let him further study her powers. He is convinced he can obtain the powers that run through each one of them. What he has planned after that is between him and me."

"Ginny is not dangerous like that, it's Jack Adwell that made her like this in the first place. He's the one who probably injected her with whatever tried to take over her body." Hermione snapped.

"I have heard enough Mrs. Weasley. You want to believe they aren't dangerous, but shall I remind you of the many incidents that have occurred these past few weeks? That Scorpius Malfoy and James Potter are looking at a life sentence in Azkaban for the murder of Noah Adwell. That your niece, Ellie almost killed an entire room full of people because she couldn't control her powers. That Mrs. Malfoy has made countless threats on the Adwell's and even physically harmed Jack Adwell out in public with her powers. Should I go on?"

"I know it seems like they are dangerous, but you have to realize-"

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. "I have heard enough Mrs. Weasley, now leave my office."

She shot him a deadly glare as she stood up. "You are a fool if you think Jack Adwell is doing any of this because he has the best interest of the Ministry at heart," she said before she slammed the door shut and stormed off.

* * *

Scorpius walked into the kitchen the next morning and was surprised to see Ember making breakfast.

"Where's Grandma? I thought she was coming over this morning?"

"She couldn't come," she said, giving him a sad look.

"Is it Grandpa?"

She gave him a small nod.

He let out a soft sigh before he started grabbing some dishes out of the cabinet as silence filled the room.

"I just want everything to seem normal to them still... I don't want them to start freaking out because Mum and Dad aren't here right now." Ember said as she placed a few pancakes on a plate.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

"Have you talked to Raven yet?"

"Pft, no and I'm not going to. I may be out of Azkaban... but I still killed a man."

"That's right, you did." snapped Aurora as she walked into the kitchen and collected the dishes and cups to bring into the dining room. "I guess now the only people you'll be able to associate with is other killers and murderers like your partner in crime James," she said as anger covered her face.

"Aurora! Stop that." Ember said.

She rolled her eyes before she stormed off into the dining room.

"Scorpius, don't listen to her, she's just angry... mostly at James for keeping something like that from her. She's mad at you for... well... the obvious. Just give her some time." Ember tried to explain.

"Some time to what exactly? Not look at me like a killer? I don't think that's going to change." he said with a sneer. "I think I'll just skip breakfast."

"Scorpius, no, wait!" Ember called after him.

After realizing he wasn't coming back, she let out an aggravated sigh before she finished making breakfast.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't see them?" Scorpius snarled. "We were told yesterday we can see them whenever we wanted, now let us in," he demanded.

The guard stood up from his chair behind the desk and walked around until he was face to face with Scorpius. "Well, you're not getting in today to see them, now turn around and go home."

Scorpius felt Ember grab his wrist and give him a light tug to back off.

Ember watched the guard's eyes travel from the two of them to over their shoulder's, making his entire demeanor change. "Kingsley, nice to see you again Sir."

"Thank you Boris, Mrs. Weasley and I are here to accompany Ember and Scorpius in to see their parents. We wanted to make sure there weren't any issues." Kingsley explained as he nodded to Hermione beside him before he looked at Ember and Scorpius. "You aren't having any issues getting in, are you?" he asked them.

Ember looked at Boris with a satisfied smirk. "Nope."

"Good, now Boris, can you lead the way?" Kingsley asked with a smile.

"Of course, Sir," Boris said. "But first, I'll need your wands."

They all turned in their wands and then Boris pulled out two silver cuffs and looked at Ember and Scorpius.

"You need to wear these if you want to go any further."

They exchanged a look before Ember looked at Hermione for approval.

She gave a small nod before Ember held out her wrist for him to put it on and then Scorpius did the same.

"It's to keep your powers from surfacing." Hermione explained when she saw they both stll looked uncertain about the device.

They all then followed Boris down a long hall and into an elevator, it was a regular Muggle elevator, nothing like the one at the Ministry. Ember was surprised when the elevator went down instead of up. She kept expecting it to stop soon, but it just kept going deeper and deeper underground, which prompted her to lock eyes with Scorpius, who seemed to be noticing the same thing.

The elevator finally came to a stop and when it opened it was like they had stepped out of the Wizarding World completely.

"Aunt Hermione, have you been here before?" Ember asked.

"I have not, neither has Kingsley," she said before she leaned closer to Ember. "But I had a feeling you two would have an issue getting in to see them, so I brought Kingsley with me because he still has some power... for now anyway," she whispered to her.

Ember just looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

"Of course."

They kept walking and walking for a while. There were padlock doors that required either a badge to be scanned or a code to get through to the next hallway. The amount of security in this place made Ember feel quite uneasy. She felt so uncomfortable that she started rethinking her decision to come here at all.

Hermione seemed to pick up on this and took her hand. "You're fine, you both are... I came with Kingsley so we can get you in and then get you out, ok?"

They both nodded.

"I thought Adwell's Lab was part of the Ministry?" Ember stated.

"Yeah... so did I," Kingsley replied with a look of anger covering his face as he took in his surroundings.

They finally stopped and waited for the final door to open.

"Kingsley and I will wait out here for now, go ahead, you guys first," Hermione said with a smile as she nodded for Ember and Scorpius to go in first.

Ember walked into the room with her brother beside her and they both just stood there across this huge room just staring at the place their parents were in.

"Mum? Dad?" Ember called out as she walked quickly over to them with Scorpius close behind her.

Ginny and Draco snapped their heads up at the sound of their daughter's voice.

"Ember? What the hell are you two doing here? It is not safe for you guys here!" Ginny went off on a frantic rant.

Ember walked up to the glass wall between them. "It's ok, Aunt Hermione and Kingsley are out in the hall... they wanted to make sure we didn't have a problem getting in."

Once Draco heard Hermione and Kingsley were there he relaxed a bit. "How's everything at home?"

Ember just looked at Scorpius, who ignored the question.

"It's ok." she said in a small voice.

"Ember... Scorpius, listen to me." Ginny said as she motioned them over to get as close to the wall as possible. "They are going to come for you."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked.

"The Ministry, they wanted us out of the way so they can collect you all. You need to-"

"Ah, Ember... so nice to see you again." A voice said from the doorway.

They all turned to see Jack Adwell approaching them.

"I see you didn't have any issues getting in," he stated with a wide grin.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Scorpius snapped.

"Are you implying that I am trying to keep you from seeing your parents? I would never do such a thing."

Ember and Scorpius just glared at him, a small beep from the bracelets they wore made them both look down at them.

"Let's not get all riled up now." Mr. Adwell said as he noticed the bracelets light up to prevent their powers from surfacing.

"Hey."

Scorpius and Ember turned back at the sound of their father's voice.

"Remember what we said." Draco locked eyes with them, an unspoken warning was exchanged between them once more.

Ember looked at her mother's face, she could tell she was scared. Not for herself, but for them, for her children and Ember felt this tremendous amount of responsibility suddenly.

"We love you guys, stay safe," Ginny said, her hand pressed against the glass.

Ember placed her hand on the other side. "We will be... I'll keep them safe... I promise."

* * *

Ember stormed out onto the Quidditch pitch and spotted Harper up in the air as usual.

"HARPER! GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" she screamed.

After a few moments, she realized she was being ignored and her anger grew.

"HARPER!"

After another moment or two when she realized she wasn't coming down, she set the back of Harper's broom on fire, forcing her to make a descent to the ground.

"What the hell Ember, my broom," she growled, as she jumped off and assessed the damage.

"Relax, it's fine, I'll repair it," she said as she put the small fire out. "Besides, you knew I was calling you and you just ignored me."

"Well, what the bloody hell do you want?" Harper snapped.

"Hey, don't talk to me like that?"

"What are you going to do? Tell Mum and Dad?" Harper scoffed before walking past her.

"Harper! Get the hell inside and wash up for dinner!" Scorpius yelled out as he came walking out of the house.

Harper just glared at him and then at Ember before she threw her broom down and walked inside.

"Why does she listen to you, but not me?" Ember sighed.

"She just needs a firm hand is all."

"I was being firm." she snapped.

"Yeah, but you kind of come off as-"

"As what!" she yelled.

"Nothing."

"Say it."

"No."

"SAY IT!" she yelled at him, taking a step closer to him.

He smirked at her rising anger. "A bossy bitch."

She stormed past him and walked inside, slamming the door shut and locking it before he could follow her in.

* * *

The dinner table that night was filled with silence, Ember tried to make conversation with her sisters, but nobody had much to say.

"Where's Grandma? Why isn't she here with us?" Harper asked.

"Grandma is at home with Grandpa tonight because he isn't feeling well. Now eat your dinner." Ember snapped before she noticed Scorpius give her a look from across the table that said "I told you so." about his bossy bitch comment earlier. "Please?" she added at the end of her sentence after giving her brother a slight sneer.

Harper just gave a hard sigh and started eating her food. Ember smiled to herself when she saw Harper give in and then turned her attention to Riley, who was just pushing her food around.

"You ok, Riley?"

She nodded before she pushed her plate back and got up and went upstairs.

Ember got up to go talk to her as Ava started crying and the doorbell rang at the same time.

"You're up big bro," she said before she walked upstairs.

Scorpius picked Ava up and tried to figure out why she was crying. "Aurora, go make yourself useful and answer the door," he said.

She rolled her eyes before she got up and walked over to the door and opened it. Her eyes locked with James' and for some reason instead of an overwhelming sense of happiness overcoming her, it was anger.

"You must be here for Scorpius because I do not want to see you."

"Aurora, please let me explain-"

He was surprised when she walked towards him out onto the front porch and shut the door. "Ok, explain."

"Um-"

"There is nothing you can say that will make it ok for what you did. The fucked up part is that I'm more upset about you lying to me, letting me open up to you and thinking I can trust you and then you keep something like that from me? I thought we were best friends?"

"We are and I was ashamed, of course, I didn't tell you. I was scared and didn't want you to look at me differently."

"Well, too late for that." she snapped before she stormed back inside.

Scorpius came to the doorway to see who she was yelling at. "Oh, hey, yeah, she's mad at me too," he said as he opened the door the rest of the way for him to come inside.

James walked in and followed him into the dining room.

"Did you get to see your dad today?" Scorpius asked as he placed Ava back in her high chair and gave her a sippy cup.

"No, Mum wouldn't let me go."

Scorpius would've asked why but he knew it must have had something to do with his parents warning from earlier.

"That's probably for the best."

"What do you mean?"

Scorpius waited for the last of his sisters to leave the dining room before he took a seat and kicked out a chair for James to sit.

"My parents said something about someone coming for us. Something about now that they were out of the way that we need to be careful in case someone tries to... I don't know... capture us I guess?"

James just stared at him as his words sank in.

"About a week ago when I was in Diagon Alley with Mum... Bella went running off and Jack Adwell was the one who conveniently found her. When I went to reach for her he made a comment... sort of a warning."

"Like what?" Scorpius asked, leaning in to make sure he didn't miss a word through Ava's babbling.

"He asked if I thought she had powers... then said something about me making sure the wrong people didn't get their hands on someone like her... like me."

"So it's true then? You do have powers, like your dad?" Scorpius asked.

James just nodded.

"How long have you had them?"

James shrugged. "A couple of months."

"Hold on a second," Scorpius said as a thought crossed his mind. "That night with Noah... did you-"

"Did I almost kill you with my powers to try and stop you from killing the guy... yeah," James said, running his hand through his messy hair.

They both fell silent.

"Well, thanks." Scorpius finally said.

"For almost killing you?"

"No, you git, for stopping me... although, I guess it didn't matter in the end."

"No, I guess not," James said as they both fell silent once more. "You mind if I crash here? Mum is falling apart right now and has started to bombard me with questions about my feelings and I just can't deal with that shit right now."

"Yeah, sure. Why don't you see if you can bunk with Aurora." Scorpius said with a smirk before James threw a balled up napkin at him as they both laughed.

"Yeah, she hates me," he said, his smile fading at the reality of the situation. "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"Fuck if I know, she hates my fuckin guts right now. Sorry mate, wish I had a more uplifting answer, but I'm fresh out of advice." Scorpius said as he got up and gently took a now sleeping Ava out of her high chair. "You could try talking to her again, she might just need some time."

James just nodded at his words before he looked at the still messy table in front of him and started clearing the dishes.

* * *

"Riley?" Ember called into the bedroom as she opened the door a bit and rested her eyes on her sister lying in bed.

She walked over to her and took a seat at the end of the bed when she realized she was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Riley just shook her head to indicate she didn't want to talk about it.

"Riley, please talk to me. I know I'm not Mum or Dad, but-"

"Exactly, you're not, so please stop pretending that everything is fine." she cried as she quickly sat up to face her.

Ember just stared at her for a moment as she watched fresh tears well up in her eyes again.

"Riley, I'm just trying to keep you guys from worrying. Mum and Dad will be back soon, we just need-"

"There you go again, stop it. Something isn't right... it hasn't been for a while now. Ember, please stop lying to me... tell me the truth."

Ember just stared at her again before she let out a light sigh and leaned forward to wipe her sister's tears away.

"Alright, no everything is not ok, in fact, everything kind of sucks right now. What we need to do, though, as a family, is not fall apart or turn on each other. We need to stick together while Mum and Dad are gone. I don't know how long it will be for, but I need you to stay strong... ok? Scorpius and I... even Ellie and Aurora... we are all here for you... for each other."

Riley just gave her a small nod before Ember pulled her into a tight hug.

* * *

Ember made her way back downstairs after her talk with Riley to finish clearing the table when she saw it was already done. She made her way into the kitchen where she watched James from the doorway drying the last of the dishes.

"You didn't have to do that, James," she said, walking over and started putting the dishes away.

He gave a small shrug. "It's fine, just trying to keep my mind off of things."

"And how's that going?" she asked.

"Turns out when you're alone washing dishes you tend to think even more about everything that is wrong in your life."

She gave a small laugh.

"Ember... how did your parents react when they first found out you and Scorpius had powers?"

Ember smiled at the question as she thought back to the day. "They were scared... really scared, it was almost comical."

He gave a small laugh. "How did you react? To having them?"

"I was obsessed with them... I still was until a few weeks ago. I wanted to learn everything and anything about them. I had a hard time developing them and I was so angry when Scorpius practically mastered his in less than a week." she stopped and looked at him, she could see all the questions on his face as he fell deep in thought. "What about you? How did you react?"

James thought back to the first time he found out he had powers and a smile stretched across his face. "I thought it was pretty awesome. I loved them, I loved learning how to control them and use them," he said as he handed her another dish he had just finished drying.

"And now? How do you feel about them now?" she asked as she took the plate and stacked it in the cabinet above her.

He just shrugged. "I don't know, I want to embrace them, but with everything that happened... I don't have as much control over them as I thought I did... and that scares me."

She watched him again for a moment. "So try for just a minute to forget everything that has happened over the past few weeks. Really try to not think about it at this exact moment and think of something happy."

James just scoffed at her words.

"I'm serious," she said, reaching forward and ripping the towel out of his hands and throwing it down on the counter. "Look at me."

He finally gave in and looked up at her.

"Show me." she softly said. "Clear your mind and show me."

He sighed before he looked at the silverware in front of him and picked one up to dry it. He held out the spoon for her to take and she reached up to grab it. She felt a small shock before she could wrap her fingers around it making her look up at him with some uncertainty. Her eyes traveled down to the spoon once more and this time she wrapped her fingers around the opposite end more firmly.

"I can feel it," she said as a light sensation of pins and needles spread throughout her fingers and up her arm. She watched the hairs on her arm and felt the ones on the back of her neck start to stand up. She could feel her hair start to slowly frizz as the sensation ran through her body. "Whoa." she breathed out through a wide smile. "Can you do more?"

He laughed at her question. "Pft, please... you have no idea."

She smirked at his comment and then felt a small jolt of electricity run through her and she was suddenly engulfed in flames, causing James to jump back and letting the spoon fall to the floor.

As quickly as her powers surfaced, they died down and they both just stared at each other.

"What the fuck was that?" he asked her.

"I don't know, your powers made mine surface. It must be a trigger for them... I've never felt them so powerful before." she said through her heavy breathing. "James, your powers are amazing."

"Thanks, I'm not going to lie, your powers just kind of terrified me for a second there."

They both laughed before she lightly punched his arm. "Get back to drying."

* * *

Ginny stepped out from behind the curtain that was around her in a fresh set of clothes. She gave a small shiver at how cold it was in the lab before she took a seat on her bed and wrapped the thin blanket around her shoulders.

"Would be nice to have more than a tank top to wear," she growled out in frustration.

She looked over at Draco, who was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling lost in thought. She got up with her blanket wrapped around her and walked over to the wall.

"What are you thinking about?"

He looked over at her before he sat up and walked over to meet her by the wall.

"I'm thinking about how to get the hell out of here. These walls are almost impenetrable... and with these neck devices, it will be impossible to conjure up our powers." he sighed.

Ginny looked around the lab, it was late at night and it was quiet. The only blinding light was the one in each of their rooms.

"I miss them," she said softly.

"I know."

She looked past Draco to Harry, who was just slowly pacing his room. "Harry?"

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"You ok? You haven't gone stir crazy yet, have you?"

He smirked at her comment. "No, just thinking," he said with a small smile.

She nodded before she looked back at Draco and walked back over to her bed to grab her pillow and joined him at the wall once more.

"Sleepover?" she asked as she tossed her pillow on the floor and wrapped herself inside the blanket before she laid on the ground.

He shook his head at her with a small smile before he grabbed his pillow and blanket and joined her along the wall.

Ginny looked over at Harry again. "Stop pacing and try to sleep Harry, it's been a long day and we are obviously nowhere near getting out of here."

He let out a hard sigh. "I guess so... I just wish I was able to talk to James before all of this."

"You can talk to him when we get out of here," Draco said, locking eyes with him. "We're getting out."

Harry just gave a small nod before he walked over and threw himself down on his bed.

Draco turned back to Ginny as they lay on the floor facing each other.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked him.

"Of course, you can tell me anything."

She bit her lip as she looked at him. "I think I'm pregnant."

He just stared at her for a second before he started laughing and soon she did too.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked her with an amused smirk.

"Just know... this is your fault, as always," she said with a smile.

"Well, I did say I wanted eight kids." he chuckled.

"Yep, except... this isn't the ideal situation to be in right now," she said, her tone becoming more serious.

He locked eyes with her. "I'm going to get us out... all of us," he said, placing the palm of his hand up against the glass.

She nodded at his words before she placed her hand up against where his was."I hope so."

 **A/N: What do you guys think? I know things are just getting worse and worse. I would love to have some feedback on this chapter and the story so far, so please leave a review. =D**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Again, so sorry that my updates aren't as quick as they used to be. This chapter took a lot of time to write because I needed the scenes to really be conveyed the right way and hopefully they have been.**

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 **This chapter is a longer than my usual ones, so hopefully you guys don't mind.** ** **Also a HUGE thank you to everyone that is constantly reviewing, I read and reply to every single one if I'm able to. I love you guys for being fans and supporters of my writing.****

 **Now onto the story...enjoy...**

James jolted out of his sleep to the feeling of ice cold water hitting his face.

"What the fuck!" he yelled as he wiped his face and blinked his eyes a few times before Aurora came into view. "Did you just pour freezing cold water on me? What's wrong with you?"

"No, the water was room temperature when I got it, the ice cold part was my doing," she said with a smile.

He ripped the blankets off of himself and got out of bed. He wanted to yell at her, but he knew she was mad and he didn't want to make things any worse between them.

"Just wanted you to know breakfast was ready."

"Yeah, thanks, you damn psycho." he spat as he stormed into the bathroom.

Aurora just stood there for a moment, staring at the closed bathroom door. She let out a long sigh as guilt filled her over the way she'd been treating James. She was just so angry at him and Scorpius. She walked over to the bathroom door and raised her fist to go knock on it before she paused for a moment. She shook her head at the anger that still filled her and let her hand fall to her side and left the bedroom.

* * *

He opened his eyes and looked out into the darkness that surrounded him. He sat up and saw he was in a hospital bed and then looked around the room once more. There was nothing but complete darkness around him with only a blaring light shining down on the bed he sat in.

"Hello?"

He heard the echo of his voice fill the room and then quickly snapped his head to the side when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Mother?"

"Hello, Draco."

"What are you doing here? Where am I? Am I dead?"

Narcissa shook her head. "No, Dear, not yet... right now you're hallucinating."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

He looked down suddenly and saw he was hooked up to a bunch of different machines. He looked back up at her.

"I don't understand."

"You have to wake up now," she said with a smile.

"Mr. Malfoy!"

He heard his name being called, but it was muffled. He looked around the room once more to see if he could find where it was coming from. When he went to look at his mother again, she was in the distance, fading into the darkness.

"Wake up, Draco." she softly called to him.

Draco's eyes suddenly snapped open and he jolted up gasping for air. He yelled out in pain suddenly when he felt this incredible pressure in his head. His hands instinctively reached for the IV in his arm and went to pull it out when someone pushed him back down.

"Calm down Mr. Malfoy, you're fine. My name is Crystal and I need you to relax." the lady said.

He turned to look at her. "What the fuck is going on? What are you doing to me?" he asked, looking around and noticing he wasn't in the same room he was in before.

She ignored him as she pressed a button on what looked like a tape recorder and started talking. "Results of serum sample 101 were a complete fail on Subject B. Subject experienced hallucinations and increased heart rate almost resulting in death-"

"Hello? Hey, I'm fuckin talking to you." he snapped, reaching to grab her before she waved her wand and restrained him to the bed.

"Subject B is displaying some confusion and high levels of agitation and aggression." She continued recording, glaring at him with a smug smirk.

"You're damn fuckin right I'm being aggressive, you have me hooked up like some damn lab rat. You almost fuckin killed me with whatever bullshit you and that Adwell asshole are brewing up."

She stopped recording and looked right at him, her expression turning angry. She walked over and leaned in closer to him. "If I were you, Mr. Malfoy, I'd be a little nicer. The only way the three of you are leaving this lab is in a body bag and that's after we've used you all for everything we need."

"What the fuck is wrong with you people? How is this ok with the Ministry?"

She gave him a wider smirk. "It's not." before she started recording again. "Subject has been put into a temporary medically induced coma until the effects of the serum have worn off," she said before she picked up a needle and smiled at him.

"What?" he asked at the words she spoke before he saw her reach for his IV. "No, wait!"

Before he could attempt to stop her, she emptied the contents of the needle into his IV and she faded from view.

* * *

"What do you mean go into hiding?" Ember asked.

"You all need to be brought to like a safe house or something until I'm certain you guys are safe," Hermione explained.

"I get it that Mum gave us this supposed warning, but no offense, are we sure she just wasn't overreacting? I mean, she's been through a lot the past few weeks." Scorpius suggested.

"Yeah, and it's been more than twenty-four hours since Mum and Dad have been out of the picture. If the Ministry had something up their sleeve, wouldn't they have come to take us by now?" Ember asked.

"I know you both aren't as stupid as you're sounding right now." Hermione snapped. "Listen to me and trust me. You both have no idea how bad things are right now and they are only going to get worse. I am waiting to hear back from Kingsley about a place I can bring you guys to. I will be back tonight... pack light and be ready to leave. I have placed a temporary ward around the Manor, but the Ministry controls all wards now so it's not really ideal, but it's all I can do for now."

"Wait, slow down, you want us to just leave our home?" Aurora asked.

"Yes!" Hermione yelled, slamming her hands down on the table. "Listen to me, all of you. All because nobody has been here yet doesn't mean they aren't coming. Minister Beckett may have some crazy plan worked out with Jack Adwell, but Mr. Adwell has been the one convincing Beckett all along that these things are best for the Ministry. Beckett won't just come and basically kidnap you all and force you into testing and evaluations. The Potter, Malfoy, and Weasley names are well established amongst the Ministry so not everyone will be keen on what's going on. Your parents have some good friends there still and especially your grandparents. Beckett will have a complete uprising on his hands if word got out about what he was doing unless he's convinced everyone that what he's doing is the right thing."

None of them said anything.

"I'm going to be back later. Do not let anyone in here that you don't know and be ready to leave when I get back, do you understand?"

They all nodded.

"Good."

* * *

"Are you ready yet?" Ember asked as she walked into Scorpius' bedroom.

"I guess," he said, zipping up his bag.

They heard someone enter the ward and exchanged a quick look before Scorpius pulled back the curtain and let out a hard sigh at who it was.

"Raven?" Ember asked.

He nodded before he threw his bag aside and went downstairs to talk to her.

He took the steps two at a time, for some reason anger was rising in him at Raven's arrival. He couldn't understand why she kept coming back to him after he's let her down and been nothing but a disappointment to her these past few weeks.

Before she could knock he ripped the front door open and stepped outside ready to snap at her, but as soon as his eyes fell on her, all the anger inside him faded.

"So it is true, you're out of there," she said with a smile.

"What do you want Raven? You shouldn't be here."

"I came to see you."

"Why though? You know what I did... what I am. Why would you want to see me?"

She became angry suddenly. "You know what Scorpius, stop pushing me away. I am well aware of what you've done and what went down these past few weeks. Maybe this makes me a fucked up person for saying this, but... I don't care... I don't care what you've done, all I know is that I love you so fuckin much and I can't be without you in my life so please-"

He grabbed her and kissed her with such force he had to hold her arms tightly to keep her from falling backward. His love for Raven was greater than he thought it was and he knew he shouldn't allow her to be ok with his actions, but right now he missed her so much.

He finally broke the kiss and looked at her. "You want to come in for a bit?" he asked through his heavy breathing.

She nodded with a bright smile before she pressed her lips against his once more.

* * *

Hermione was collecting all of her paperwork and quickly grabbed her things as she got ready to head to Malfoy Manor.

"Thanks again for your help, Kingsley."

"Anytime Hermione, I will always try to help you all whenever I am able. Have a good night and good luck," he said as he left her office.

She threw her bag over her shoulder and quickly made her way down the hall as she headed towards the elevators.

"Ah, Mrs. Weasley, so glad I caught you in time." came a voice from down the hall.

Hermione cursed under her breath when she saw who it was. "Auror Rolon, what can I help you with?" she asked, although she knew he was one of the Aurors who questioned Ember about Noah and already had a feeling what he was here for.

"Minister Beckett has ordered for you to undergo questioning," he said.

She was quiet for a moment. "Well, I will be sure to make arrangements to come down to your office for that, but I need to be-"

"Tonight," he said, cutting her off and blocking her path to the elevator.

She shook her head in annoyance before she followed him to an interrogation room and took a seat.

"What exactly am I being questioned about?" she asked, anger apparent in her tone.

"Well, Minister Beckett and Mr. Adwell are concerned that you have plans to interfere with Ministry business," he explained.

"You mean that I refuse to let them bring any harm to my family and friends? Or that I'm not stupid enough to believe that they are doing anything good for the Ministry and it's all just Jack Adwell's sick plan for power and some big scientific breakthrough. I have nothing to hide so go ahead with your questions." she snapped.

"It's not what you're hiding that concerns us... it's who."

She let out a shaky breath at his comment.

"Let's start with you drinking this," he said as he slid a bottle of Veritaserum over to her.

* * *

Ember was pacing back and forth in the foyer waiting for Hermione to come back. She kept peeking out of the window to see no sign of her and day starting to turn to night.

"Where the hell are you?" she mumbled to herself. She turned to see Scorpius coming out of the dining room. "Did, Harper finish her carrots?" she asked as she watched him carrying the rest of the dinner plates to the kitchen.

"Um... yes?" he said.

"You ate them for her didn't you?" she asked, placing her hand on her hip.

"Don't do that, you look like Mum and you sound like her too," he said, walking into the kitchen with her behind him.

"I thought Aunt Hermione would be back by now." she sighed.

"She probably got hung up at work with stuff; she'll be here."

They both fell silent.

"So, I see Raven is still here... I'm guessing everything is ok between you guys?"

"Ok? No... getting there? Yes. The thing with Raven is... it's like she just wants to forget everything that's wrong in our lives... my life and I can't just do that."

"I think she just loves you enough to see past all that stuff. Maybe she doesn't know how to address it or talk about it with you so she just thinks it's best to pretend it didn't happen?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

They heard someone walk through the ward and Ember made her way towards the foyer again. "Tell the girls to be ready to leave and Iet Ava sleep until the very last minute," she called over her shoulder to him as she neared the door.

She opened the door and was surprised to see it wasn't Hermione at all. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

"So you do remember me?" he teased. "I just haven't heard from you and you haven't been to work, so I was worried. Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry Jake, everything has been so crazy the past few days and my parents are being kept at Mr. Adwell's lab so they haven't been here," she explained, rambling on as feelings of guilt filled her for not keeping Jake updated on anything.

"Calm down, relax, I understand. Is that why this ward is up over the Manor?" he asked.

"My aunt thinks it's best to just have some extra protection right now."

"Definitely, is that why all those men are out there too? They kind of look like Aurors."

"What men?" she asked.

"Right outside the wards, there are at least twenty to thirty men around the Manor... I figured they were Aurors."

She grabbed him into the house and closed the front door and locked it. Her heart started racing a bit at the slight possibility that they may be in trouble. She ran upstairs as fast as her legs would allow her to.

"SCORPIUS!" she screamed out as she neared his bedroom.

"What is it?" he asked running into the hallway at the sound of her panicked voice.

"Jake just told me there's like thirty men outside... and I don't think they are here to protect us," she said, locking eyes with him.

He just shook his head. "No, there's no way they would send people here to-"

He stopped talking when all the lights went out in the Manor.

"What the-"

Ember covered his mouth with her hand as they all listened to the sound of the front door slowly opening downstairs.

She looked at him with wide eyes, her voice shaky as she spoke. "Someone is in here," she whispered. "Get the girls; we need to get out of here. Is James still here?"

He nodded.

"Ok, I'll get Ava... be careful," Ember said before she gave a quick glance at Raven's panicked expression and then ran down the hall to the other side of the house.

* * *

"Hey, not that you care, but I'm going to head back home now... check on my mum and Bella," James said as he stood in Aurora's doorway.

She just shrugged before she went back to what she was doing.

He rolled his eyes before he closed her door.

As soon as her bedroom door closed, the lights went out and she looked up at her closed door. "Really James!" she yelled, storming over to the door and ripping it open. "What-"

She was cut off by a spell whipping past her face, missing her by a few inches. Her eyes grew wide when she saw a man coming towards her from down the hall and she quickly turned to run down the opposite way. When she saw there was another man at the other end, she ran back into her bedroom and locked the door. She knew it wouldn't keep them out, but it was just instinct. She grabbed her wand off her nightstand and held it out in front of her, her hand trembling with fear.

She let out a small scream when she heard them trying to break her door down. She ran into the bathroom and completely shut down from fear as she curled up into a ball in the corner of the room. She heard a lot of noise out in the hall and in her bedroom until finally the bathroom door was slammed open.

"Aurora are you ok?" James asked.

She just stared at him for a moment before she quickly got up and ran over to him and tightly latched onto him. She forgot about any anger she had towards him as her hands held onto him out of fear.

"Looks like my Expelliarmus spell is as good as my dad's."

"Yeah, well, let's see if you're as lucky as him and try to get us out of here alive." she mumbled.

He took her hand and pulled her along with him out to the hall where the two men were now knocked out on the floor. They heard a small scream come from down the hall and quickly ran towards it.

* * *

Ember felt a spell fly over her head and hit the wall in front of her as she made a sharp turn and started running down another hall. The sound of Harper's scream filled the Manor and she picked up speed as she neared her bedroom. Her hand was gripped tightly around her wand as she waved it wildly at the man trying to get into her sister's bedroom and he went flying across the hall. She ran into the bedroom and saw Harper, her small face was covered in fear and her heart sank. Harper wasn't scared of anything, she never really saw her look so vulnerable before and she grabbed her into a tight hug.

"Are you ok?"

She nodded.

"Ok, you have your wand?"

She nodded.

"Good, look at me. Stay tough, don't break on me now, ok?" she said to her with a small smile.

Harper nodded before she went to follow Ember out of the room when another man blocked the doorway.

"Ember, it's always nice to see you... I wish it was under better circumstances though."

"Auror Stephenson? What's going on? Why are you trying to kill us?" she asked, her wand pointed at him.

"Kill you? No, we just need you to come with us. As long as you all cooperate, then nobody will get hurt."

"Where's my aunt? She was supposed to be here."

"Hermione was brought in for questioning, one slip of Veritaserum and she spilled everything, even her plans to hide you all."

"You've known my family forever... my parents... my grandparents, how could you treat us like this? You're working for Jack Adwell, not the Ministry, aren't you?"

"That's none of your concern, now come quietly or things will get ugly."

He took one step towards them when neither of them moved and before he could come any closer he was hit with a spell from behind and fell to the floor. Jake stood behind him with his wand out.

"Thank you," Ember said as the three of them went running towards Ava's bedroom.

* * *

He let out a hiss of pain as a spell grazed his upper arm in his attempt to take cover.

"You're bleeding," Raven said loudly as she started becoming frantic with fear.

"I'm fine, it's fine; you need to calm down Raven," Scorpius said, trying to get her to lower her voice.

"We're going to die, they're going to kill us." she went on.

Scorpius looked at Riley and Ellie, who were beside them; Riley started crying at Raven's comment.

"No, we aren't going to die, Raven, stop it," he said firmly.

"How do you know that? There's way more of them than there are of us and-"

He covered her mouth to stop her from rambling on. "Stop it, look at me... we are going to be ok... I promise. Pull yourself together Raven, can you do that?" he asked her, his eyes piercing into her green ones.

She nodded.

"I know there must be some sort of psycho deep down inside of you that you can channel since you still have the desire to be with me after everything, so let's try bringing that out a bit," he said with a smirk.

She gave him a small tearful laugh before she nodded at his words again.

"I lost my wand, Riley do you have yours?" he asked, turning to his sisters.

"No, I left it in my bedroom," she whispered out through her tears as they heard someone coming closer.

He turned to Raven. "Put a Protego charm up around you guys."

She did what he asked as he squatted down in front of Ellie. "Can you use your powers?"

She shook her head. "I can't, I've tried... they won't come."

He gave an understanding nod before they all got down to the floor as two spells hit the wall above their heads. Scorpius peeked out from behind the wall and quickly pulled his head back when a spell almost hit him.

"Shit, they are at both ends," he said.

He sat there on the floor and leaned his head back as he quickly thought of a solution. He locked eyes with Ellie, who sat across from him.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him, her eyes full of fear but her tone firm.

Everyone became completely quiet as the sound of footsteps approaching them grew closer. Scorpius looked at the fear on all of their faces again and something inside of him snapped. The floor beneath him grew cold and soon it was covered in ice. He got to his feet and stepped out into the open hall area where spells came flying at him from both ends. Before they could reach him, they all turned to ice and then Scorpius sent them shooting back at them, knocking both men to the floor.

He quickly motioned for the girls to follow him and they took off down the hall and another two men cut them off at the end. Scorpius felt his powers grow stronger, maybe it was from the adrenaline running through him, or maybe it was from fear of one of his sisters getting hurt; whatever it was he just knew he needed to protect them. He sent out a path of jagged ice that formed up from the ground down the hall, long shards of it pierced the legs of the two men who blocked their path and their screams filled the hall. He walked up to both of the men as the girls squeezed past to get to the other side. He wanted to hurt them, he wanted to kill them for trying to hurt his sisters and Raven, but he thought back to Noah.

"Next time... you're dead," he said with a sneer before he ran his hand through his hair to make sure each piece was back in place.

He felt Raven tug on his arm as he slightly deliberated still with the thought of ending the men in front of him before he finally looked at her and kept walking.

* * *

Ember scrambled backward across the ground as the floor beneath her turned to ice. She knew it to be Scorpius and was worried what kind of trouble he was in, but her main concern right now was trying to get to Ava's room across the hall. She crawled over and peeked around the corner to see three men making their way down the hall checking each bedroom and her heart raced.

Ember looked at her wand that lay a few feet away from her in the middle of the hall. "Cover me, I'm going to make a run to Ava's room and grab her," Ember said to Jake.

She barely took one step before a spell whizzed by and missed her by mere inches. She saw James and Aurora running up to them from the other side of the hall and she quickly held her hands up to stop them from walking out into the open hallway.

"How many?" James mouthed to her.

Ember held up three fingers.

Before any kind of strategy could be worked out, the sound of Ava's crying filled the hall and all three men headed straight for her bedroom. Ember and Aurora locked eyes as panic set in. Ember's panic was replaced with rage suddenly as she ran out into the hallway and snatched her wand off the floor as fast as she possibly could and threw a spell at one of the men knocking him backward. She heard the others behind her throwing spells of their own to cover her while she dodged each spell as she ran toward Ava's bedroom.

She was almost there when she felt a spell hit her chest that made her hit the ground hard, her wand flying across the room. She suddenly watched a ball of ice fly over her and hit the man that cursed her. She quickly got to her feet as Scorpius ran past her to take down the other guy. She took her chance to run after the other man who had made his way into Ava's room.

"Don't hurt her!" she yelled as soon as she saw him approach the crib.

The man just looked at her with a smirk before he bent down and picked Ava up in his arms. "I wouldn't dream of hurting this cutie pie," he said as Ava's cries pierced Ember's ears. "Unless, of course, you leave me no choice," he said with an evil grin.

Ember felt Scorpius try to push past her to get to Ava, but she grabbed him to stop. "No, he'll hurt her!" she shouted to him, her fingers tightly holding his arm to make sure he wouldn't try anything that would put Ava in danger.

"Start walking." the man said as he nodded for them to back out of the room and back into the hall. "All of you, put these on," he said as he threw a small sack over to them that contained the same bracelets that Ember and Scorpius wore when they went to go visit their parents.

Ember picked one up and looked at it for a moment. She knew once she put it on they would have no chance of escaping. She knew Scorpius and James would be sent straight to Azkaban or worse, killed. She locked eyes with Scorpius as more men filled the hallway, any chances of escape diminishing by the second.

Scorpius saw a thin fiery ring form around her pupils as the space around him grew ten times hotter.

"PUT THE BRACELET ON OR I'LL KILL HER!" the man screamed as he pointed his wand at Ava, who was wailing.

"No," Ember said suddenly, turning her gaze at the man.

"Ember what are you doing?" Jake asked. "They'll kill her."

Rage like nothing she had ever felt before filled her body; she thought at any moment fire would shoot from her eyes at how angry she was. The man just gave her this evil smile at her anger and then it soon faded. He brought his hand to his chest and scrunched his face up in pain. His wand suddenly fell to the floor and Scorpius jumped forward and grabbed Ava from the man as he fell to his knees and started growling in pain.

Ember took a step forward as the man started screaming in agony. He clawed at his chest and stomach as the smell of burning flesh filled the room and then he was suddenly engulfed in flames. It wasn't until Scorpius grabbed Ember's wrist that she broke from her trance-like state and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Let's go," he said before they turned their attention to the men backing away from them in the hallway.

"Before you run, you should know... there won't be anywhere for you to go... we'll find you." one of the men said.

They all turned to run, Ember was hit with a disabling charm as she felt her powers die down.

"Oh, you all aren't familiar with that one are you? Your parents knew this one quite well."

The sound of the man's voice carried down the hall as they continued to run, another disabling charm hitting Scorpius. Half of them had their wands and the other half didn't as they continued to throw spell after spell over their shoulders. As soon as they ran through the back doors to the garden they all ran as fast as they could into the woods behind the Manor. Their only goal was to put as much distance in between them and the men trying to capture them.

They ran as fast as they could up the steep wooded hill, losing their footing along the way as they scrambled to the top. Aurora was the first to the top and reached down to take Ava from Scorpius before she held her other hand out for him to take. As soon as they all reached the top they continued running, not knowing if they were even still being followed.

Once they started getting deeper into the woods everything became almost pitch black, the moon being their only light.

"Should I use a Lumos charm?" Raven whispered.

"No, we can't draw any attention to us. Who has a wand?" Ember asked.

From what she could make out in the darkness, only five out of the ten of them seemed to have working wands, the rest of them were either broken, dropped or left behind in their frantic run to safety.

"Great," she said sarcastically. "None of us have much experience with apparating, we can only do really short distances and we have only mastered going to places we are already familiar with. For now, we need to go to James' house."

"Why my house?" he asked.

"James, we need to get Bella," Ember said as they all kept walking at a quick pace.

"Why? What about Hermione? I thought we were waiting for her?"

"We can't go with my aunt anymore. That Stephenson guy, he knew that she was coming tonight to hide us, they questioned her. They are using Veritaserum and that means they will continue to question anyone we know to find out where we are."

"So why do we need to get Bella?"

"Because if they want us, they'll want her because she's Harry's daughter, anyone they suspect of having powers they will come for," she stated firmly.

He just stared at her; even in the darkness, he could see the seriousness in her silver eyes. He finally nodded before they each teamed up with someone who had a wand and apparated to James' house.

* * *

Draco slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times as his blurry vision started to become focused once more. He went to move, but his body was stiff and he still had some pain in his head. He finally managed to sit up and saw he was back in his normal room connected to Ginny and Harry's.

"Draco! Are you ok?" Ginny yelled as she banged on the glass with her hand to get him to look at her.

He turned to look at her and he finally remembered what happened earlier. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or not.

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"They took you yesterday and when you came back you've been out for almost a whole day now. What happened? Please tell me you're alright?" she asked, her voice cracking.

He nodded. "I think I am," he said before he found his balance and stood up.

He walked over to her, he could see her eyes were red and puffy so he knew she had been crying a lot. He noticed her wrist was bandaged up and there was another bandage over some kind of wound that was on her neck right above the device they all wore.

"What happened to you?" he asked, placing his hands on the glass as he studied her more closely.

"I'm fine, just more experimenting... more samples... more injections," she said softly before she hung her head. "Harry was out for a few hours after they brought him back too... he's looking pretty rough," she said quietly as she smiled at Harry across the way prompting Draco to turn around.

Harry gave him a small wave. "Did you have a nice nap?" he asked.

Draco just smirked at his comment; he took in Harry's rough appearance. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was paler than normal. "You ok?" Draco asked.

"I'm... fuckin wonderful," Harry said sarcastically before he threw himself down on the couch in his room.

Draco just nodded before he faced Ginny again. "Well, at least he hasn't lost his sense of humor."

Ginny gave a slight smile before it faded.

"Do they know... that you're pregnant?" he asked her.

Ginny looked at him and then at one of the many people that were constantly in and out of the lab before she nodded.

"And?"

She shrugged as she turned back to him. "It didn't change anything. It certainly didn't stop them from experimenting on me... or breaking my wrist when I tried to fight against their poking and prodding," she said as she gestured down to her bandaged arm.

Draco just shook his head; he was seething with rage, but couldn't do a damn thing about it. He felt so helpless. "I'm sorry Ginny. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get us out of here."

"Stop that, there is nothing you can do... nothing any of us can do. If anyone should apologize, it's me. I should have talked to you before I made a deal with Adwell, I just... seeing Scorpius and James like that... I couldn't let him stay in there for another day."

"Yeah, but the one thing I love about you most is how loving of a person you are. You're an amazing mother to our children... I really shouldn't have been surprised that you did something so crazy to help one of them."

She gave him a tearful smile before she wiped a stray tear that slid down her face. "I miss them so much."

"I know... me too."

* * *

"Ok, remember, go in and get Bella, then get out as quick as possible. Don't talk to your mum or anything. The less she knows, the better for all of us." Ember explained to James.

He nodded before he apparated into his house.

James walked up to the side of Bella's bed and watched her sleep for a moment before he kneeled down beside her and gently shook her. "Bella, wake up."

"James?"

"Hey, you need to wake up."

"I'm tired," she whined loudly before she turned over and pulled the blankets up over her face.

"Shh! Ok, ok, you can go back to sleep, but first I need you to come with me," he said quietly to her.

She pulled the blankets back down and looked at him. "Go where?"

"Um... just think of it as a little adventure," he said.

"An adventure?"

"Yeah, you want to come? Harper and Riley and everyone else is going."

"Ok," she said with more excitement as she kicked off her blankets and got out of bed.

He grabbed some clothes for her and her jacket and shoes and took her hand.

"Is Mummy coming?"

"Not this time," he said softly before he apparated back outside to where the others were.

"Alright, where to now?" Scorpius asked.

"How about Uncle George's? Or Grandma and Grandpa's?" Ellie asked.

"No! What is it that you all don't understand? We can't go anywhere that involves family, nobody. The Ministry will question them all to find us; they can't know anything about where we are. This is our only chance of surviving and not getting caught long enough to figure out a plan. We need to go someplace they wouldn't expect." Ember explained. "Jake, anyway we could lay low at your place for a little bit until we figure something out?"

"Um, I don't think that's going to work," he said, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Oh, ok... um, Raven, do you think we could just rest at your place for an hour or so before we figure things out?"

"Yeah, definitely." she nodded before she took Scorpius' hand and Riley's in the other.

"Your dad is just going to love this," Scorpius said to her with a smirk.

"Ember, a quick word?" Jake asked.

She walked over to him where they were out of earshot from the others.

"Listen, I'm sorry about not being able to help you guy-"

"It's fine Jake, I get it, you don't want us putting your family in danger, it's-"

"No, it's not that." he cut her off.

She looked confused, "Then what is it?"

"Ember... I don't... I don't really live anywhere." he said in a small voice, he was obviously embarrassed by telling her this.

"What do you mean? Like you're homeless? You said you lived in a Muggle town?"

"Yes, lived as in past tense. I use to live with my mother, but I was kicked out a while ago. My mother's boyfriend is a drunk and... well... the rest is not important. I just kind of crash here and there at friends' houses or just stay at work. That's why I can't help you guys out with a place to crash, but anything else I am more than willing to help you with."

She just stared at him, the news of his living arrangements surprising her.

"Ember I'm sorry I wasn't more clear from the beginning, I was just embarrassed because you're just way out of my league and I really like you and I didn't want to-"

"Ember! We should get going!" Aurora yelled.

"We're coming!" she said before she turned back to him. "We'll talk later, ok?" she said to him.

He nodded before he followed her over to the others where they apparated to Raven's house.

* * *

"Father?" she called down the hall as she closed the front door.

It wasn't long before she heard him running down the stairs as fast he could at the sound of her voice.

"Raven? Where the hell have you been?" he demanded as he grabbed her into a hug. "You were supposed to be home hours ago; it's almost three in the morning." Blaise went off on a rant. "What happened to you, why are you filthy?"

"Dad, calm down," she said, trying to make him realize she was ok. "I'm fine."

He looked her over again before he was satisfied that she was alright. "Raven, what is going on?" he asked, his tone calmer.

She walked back over to the front door and placed her hand on the doorknob. "I need your help," she said before she opened the door to reveal the others that waited on the other side.

She nodded for them all to come inside and as they piled in Blaise started shaking his head.

"No way, Raven do you have any idea what's been going on the past few hours? The entire Malfoy and Potter family is all over the papers. You entire lot have wanted posters all over the place, every one of your faces." he said.

"What? Why?" Ember asked.

"Because the Ministry will stop at nothing to obtain you. They are offering quite the reward for anyone that has information about where you all are hiding and an even bigger reward for anyone that can hand you over to them."

"Dad, please, you have to help them."

"With what? I can't offer you a place to stay, they will be here soon because of Raven and Scorpius' known relationship and they will question me and you." he said to her.

"That's fine; we just need a place to lay low for a few hours, just to work something out. Please, Mr. Zabini... just for a little while." Ember pleaded with him.

Blaise looked them all over, the sound of Ava's cries pulled at his heartstrings.

He nodded. "I will not put Raven in danger, which is why I am hesitant to help you."

"I understand," Ember said, giving him a thankful nod before Raven led them down the hall to the couple of guest rooms they had available.

Ember guided Harper into one of the bedrooms and slipped a sweater that Raven gave her over her head. "I want you to get some rest. Scorpius and I will figure things out ok?"

Harper didn't say anything; she just stared at her with wide eyes before she gave the smallest of nods. Ember turned to look at Riley, who was giving her a similar look.

"What is it?"

"You killed that man... with your powers, you killed him."

They all just stared at each other for a moment longer. "Come on, get into bed, I want you guys to rest for now until we have to get moving again." Ember said, ignoring what Riley said.

Riley crawled into bed beside Harper and Ember went to give them a hug when they both backed away from here quickly, fear covering their faces.

Ember just stared at them for a moment. "Get some rest," she said before she got up and quickly left the room.

* * *

"Dad?"

"Here are a few more blankets, I didn't bother putting a ward up because I don't want to draw more attention to us."

"Dad!" Raven said louder, making him stop to look at her. "They are fine; they just need some guidance."

He sighed before he sat down on the couch. "Raven, this is so much bigger than you think... than they think. You weren't around during the war against Lucius last time, but I was and although I wasn't fighting alongside Draco and Ginny, I was still fighting against the horrors that terrorized the country." He hung his head at the memory. "Your mother was due to have you any day and I... I was young and scared, but I had this overwhelming task to make sure you and your mother were safe... and just like before... that's how I feel now."

"Dad..."

"I want to help, but if that means putting you in danger then I can't. You're all I have left in this world, Raven."

She smiled at his words before she walked over and let him pull her into a hug.

* * *

Ember walked into the room that James, Scorpius, and Jake were sharing where they all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

"Let me see that," Ember said to Scorpius as she gestured to the wound on his upper arm.

She sat on the couch beside him and made a small hiss when she saw how bad it was. "You need stitches or a really powerful healing charm for this gash. I'm sure with Raven's healer training, she could get this taken care of for you. I'll put a numbing spell on it for now." she said as she reached forward to borrow Jake's wand.

"Thanks," he said, looking at her.

She felt his eyes locked on her before she met his gaze. "What?"

"You tell me."

She looked away before she shook her head. "Yes, I know, I killed a man. Now Harper and Riley think I'm going to set them ablaze at any moment."

"They will be fine, what about you?" Scorpius asked her.

"Honestly? I don't care about that man, I don't care that he's dead. He would've hurt one of us or worse, I won't lose any sleep over it if that's what you mean. What I'm more upset about is what they think of me." she gestured with her hands across the hall to where Riley and Harper were asleep.

"Ember, they will be ok. They are just scared, believe me, nobody here thinks you did anything wrong." Scorpius said, looking at Jake and then to James who both nodded in agreement.

She just sighed before getting up and leaving the room. She made her way down the hall into the bathroom and started splashing some water on her face. She jumped when she brought her face back up from the sink and saw Jake staring back at her in the mirror.

"Jake?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you... it's just, my wand," he said, gesturing to his wand that she accidentally pocketed.

"Oh, sorry," she said, handing it back to him before grabbing a hand towel and patting her face dry.

"Are you sure you're ok? If you want to talk-"

"I'm sure."

He gave her a small smile before he turned to leave.

"Jake?"

He turned back at the sound of her voice and walked back into the bathroom.

She walked past him and shut the door before turning to look at him, her eyes on the ground as she spoke.

"About our conversation earlier... you said that you were too embarrassed to tell me because I was out of your league?" she finished, letting her eyes travel back up to meet his.

"I did... and it's true. I know I'm nothing close to the kind of person you should be with but I really like you and I really care about you... and-"

He was cut off when he noticed her close the distance between them, her breath gently hitting his neck before she gently pressed her lips against his.

"I really like you too," she whispered to him.

Having Ember so close to him with her lips only inches from his and the feel of her breath hitting him made a lump form in his throat. He was a bit scared to be this close to her, not because of her powers or anything like that; it was more that he was worried about doing something wrong. He felt his heart start to race as her eyes pierced into his, he was overwhelmed with how beautiful she was to him at this moment. He swore her eyes were begging for him to kiss her again, but he was too nervous to find out.

He felt her body lean a little closer to his and he suddenly decided that he was willing to take the chance of overstepping if it meant he could just feel her lips on his once more. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, his hand caressing the side of her face as his fingers entangled in her fiery strands. His mouth was on hers again, the kiss more passionate than the gentle one she gave him only moments ago. The feeling in his chest was explosive as he kissed her and then he felt the tiniest movement of uncertainty from her as she pulled back a bit.

"I'm sorry, I keep kissing you without asking and-"

"Jake stop apologizing." she snapped suddenly.

He just stared at her.

"You don't have to ask to kiss me, I just want you to do it," she stated. "I like when you kiss me, I wish you did it more. I don't care that you're not wealthy or have a great big house. Those things mean nothing to me. My mother... my grandparents; they never knew any kind of wealth, nothing anywhere close to it. Out of all the guys that tried to date me or court me, none of them have ever made me feel so special and beautiful as much as you do. You make me feel confident and secure in who I am and even with these horrid powers I possess. So please, don't ask me if it's ok to kiss me, don't think I'm out of your league because if anything I am probably the one who isn't anywhere good enough for you."

She barely finished her sentence before he grabbed her again and kissed her. This time he was so sure of his actions that he pulled her closer to him. This was probably the most physical he had ever gotten with Ember and he was preparing himself for her to pull back again at any moment, but it never happened. If anything, her kisses intensified and her hands traveled down his chest until he felt her fingers slip under his shirt.

She slid her hand up his shirt, feeling his bare skin against her palms, making her body cover in goosebumps. She felt Jake's hand on the small of her back, keeping her close to him as he trailed kisses down her neck, his breath hitting her ear making her let out a small soft moan. She helped pull his shirt off over his head before their lips made contact once more and then she suddenly stopped. She pulled her hand back from his chest when she felt something other than his smooth soft skin. He had numerous scars on his chest, stomach, and shoulders; they all looked old and healed, but seemed to be from different things. Some looked like small burn marks and the other ones could have been anything.

She looked up at him, her fingers still tracing some of the scars on his body. She gazed into his eyes as she thought about just how much she doesn't know about Jake. Looking at him made her think that the stories behind his scars weren't anything he would soon tell her about or wanted to relive anytime soon.

When she slipped her top off and felt his kisses on her shoulder and then on her chest, everything became so much more real to her suddenly. She was very aware of the fact that she was more than willing to lose her virginity to Jake, but she regretted that she never told him she was a virgin. Things were quite hot and heavy at the moment and both of their hormones were raging at this point. All gentle movements and kissing were replaced with rough hard groping and heavy breathing.

She felt his hands slide up her back and unclasp her bra while her hands undid his belt. She felt him slide his hand under the waistband of her pants and pull her even closer to him. She felt completely trapped all of a sudden when she felt him pick up her and sit her on the counter before pulling her pants off. Now that they were both completely naked she felt her heart start to race. She never got this far with Noah, so being this intimate with a guy was new for her and she felt her body completely stiffen.

"Are you ok?" Jake asked her as he slipped her hands around her waist to pull her over to the edge of the counter.

She quickly nodded and continued kissing him again before he started questioning her further. She felt him between her legs and she wanted him so badly, but she felt so nervous.

"I'm a virgin." she suddenly said.

All movement stopped just moments before he was about to enter her.

He just stared at her. "What?"

She tightly shut her eyes in embarrassment. "I'm a virgin, I'm sorry I didn't say anything." They were both quiet for a moment. "I don't suppose you are too?" she asked.

He let out a small laugh at her question making her relax a bit and stifle her own giggle.

"No, I'm not, but I can control myself. I would never make you do something you weren't ready for-"

"No, I am... I want to, I just wanted you to know before..." she trailed off.

She just watched him stare at her with this almost loving smile. It was so hard to believe how amazing Jake was and to her of all people. She was so used to Noah treating her the total opposite and for some reason Noah made her believe that she deserved it.

She leaned in to kiss him and snaked her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer to him again. His eyes locked with hers to confirm once more that she was ready and with the look of desire she gave him, he entered her. Her fingers slightly dug into his shoulders at his entrance and she took in a sharp breath. His arms held her tightly against him and she felt protected and safe by his embrace. She felt him pull back a bit before he slowly pushed into her again, his gaze on her face the whole time to make sure he wasn't hurting her. When she kissed him harder he pushed into her again and after a few more times she slid her hands into his hair and let out a soft moan.

Her orange strands fell across his face as she stared down at him from her propped up position on the counter. Jake just stared at her for a moment, he was scared that he might have just fallen completely in love with her. Everything in the look she gave him made him never want to let her go. He almost forgot that he was even in the middle of having sex with her with how entranced he was by her. It wasn't until she cupped his face and kissed him again that he was brought back to the moment they were sharing. He felt her release shortly after, the sounds of her moans that she tried to suppress against his ear drove him to finish moments later.

He didn't let her go yet, he held her close to him still, his thumb tracing her lips before he softly kissed once more.

"Are you ok?"

When she smiled at his question and nodded, he felt a tremendous amount of relief. He wasn't sure how he would handle it if she wasn't.

"Ember... I think I..." he trailed off.

"What?" she asked.

He just shook his head. "Nothing, I just really like you."

She gave him a bright smile before she grabbed his face again and kissed him.

 **A/N: Alright so your thoughts? What did you all think? The kids are pretty much on their own right now. How do you think the action scenes at the Manor went? What about Ember and Jake's moment together? Lot's of stuff to take in this chapter. Please review! I love when you guys breakdown the chapter for me and share what you liked about it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Here it is finally! Sorry its taking me longer to update, please don't hate me! This chapter took me a while to write, wanted everything to be conveyed the right way. Its another long one so hope you don't mind.**

 **If you aren't a member already, please check out my Facebook Fanfic page where I post chapter previews and update link could be found on my profile page.**

 **Now, onward to the story!**

Ember woke up to the sun shining on her face, the realization that it was morning already made her jump out of bed. She didn't mean to sleep this long and was concerned people from the Ministry or one of the many people working for Jack Adwell would come looking for them here.

She got up and threw her shoes on before running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make it look decent. When she went to leave the bedroom, she jumped when she saw Jake was asleep on the couch across the way. She gave a small smile at the memory of being with him last night. She quietly opened the door and backed out of it as she was careful not to wake him, closing the door as gently as possible.

"Good Morning."

She jumped and gasped loudly at the sound of Scorpius' voice as he leaned against the wall outside of the bedroom with his arms folded.

"You scared the shit out of me," she said, slapping him.

"Sorry," he laughed. "So how did you sleep?" he asked her as they walked down the hall.

She gave him a quick side glance, a wide smile was planted on his face. "Uh, fine," she mumbled.

"Mmhmm."

"What?" she asked him.

"Nothing." he shrugged, his smile growing even wider.

She just looked at him. "I hate you. Why are you able to pick up on these things?" she growled out in frustration as she quickened her pace.

"Listen, it's not my fault that as your twin brother I have the ability to pick up on your feelings... or other things."

"Other things?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, like when you've done something you regretted, or when you have a secret and you can't say... or when you get laid."

"Ew, gross how did you know that?" she snapped.

"I didn't, but you just confirmed it," he said with a smug smile.

"Dammit Scorpius, I swear you're a bloody asshole sometimes," she said as she slapped him a few more times.

He just laughed at her. "Sorry, it was just so obvious. Jake went to go talk to you, he didn't come back to sleep in our room, you were missing for a while... he was missing for a while-"

"Ok, I get it." she snapped before stopping in the hallway and leaning up against the wall.

She rubbed her face and then ran her hands through her hair before sighing.

"What's wrong? Not everything you thought it would be?" he teased her further.

She just gave him this deadly glare before he stared back at her with a smirk causing her to bite her lip from laughing.

"You're such an arse, I swear." she laughed. "And the only thing I didn't imagine happening when that time came was it happening in the bathroom of the Zabini Estate," she mumbled before they both started laughing harder.

They walked into the kitchen to see most of everyone awake already.

"Mr. Zabini, I'm so sorry I overslept, you should have woken me up when Ava got up," Ember said as she walked over to where Blaise had Ava sitting beside him eating some eggs.

"It's not a problem; your sisters did it all, I only supplied the eggs," he said, handing Ava her sippy cup. "Sit and eat, I'm sure it won't be long before there's a knock on the door from the Ministry... or someone else. You're taking a big risk staying as long as you have."

"I know, I'm sorry, we will be out of here as soon as possible," she said.

He just looked at her and then at Scorpius, the two of them hadn't really spoken since the news of him being sent off to Azkaban.

"I don't care how long you stay, but the longer you do the bigger risk you take of being found here. Just keep that in mind."

They both nodded before he got up at the sound of an owl tapping on the window with the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.

"How come you didn't wake me up?" Ember quietly growled out through clenched teeth to Aurora.

"I've taken care of Ava before I didn't think I had to wake you for that." she shrugged.

"Yeah, but we should have been out of here hours ago." she sighed. "Just hurry up and finish eating so we can leave."

"And where are we going exactly?" James asked.

"I don't know, anywhere but someplace they would look." she snapped.

"So we're going to blindly travel to nowhere and then what?" Ellie asked.

"What's with all the damn questions? We just need to survive and not get caught, that's all. I don't know where we're going, just... just trust me." she said, her tone dismissive.

She saw Jake give her a small smile as he took a seat across from her. "I don't mean to overstep Ember but... I know someone not too far from here that we might be able to stop at for a few hours until the next plan." he offered.

"That's perfect." Scorpius chimed in.

"Like a friend's house?" she asked.

"Well, sort of, but it's worth a shot. They are Muggles; maybe it would be better to lay low in a Muggle town?"

"Maybe, it's worth a shot. We don't have any other solutions right now." She agreed.

"Ok, well, I should warn you then... we can't stay there long like I said, a couple of hours, tops. It's not the nicest place to lay low."

"Well, anything is better than traveling the streets," James said.

"Alright, well, we should really get moving so finish up and be ready in fifteen minutes," Ember ordered. "Mr. Zabini, thank you so much for letting us stay here for a few hours."

Ember looked over at Blaise when he didn't answer and was focused on something in the paper. "Mr. Zabini?"

"Dad?" Raven called out to him before he turned to face them. She saw the look on her father's face and knew something was wrong. "What is it, Dad?"

He looked at Ember and Scorpius before he looked down at the paper again.

"What's wrong?" Ember asked, her stomach dropping at the grave expression he gave them.

"It's your grandfather... Arthur Weasley... he passed away last night," he said handing her the paper.

Ember just stared at him for a few moments, her eyes wide as the words sank in. She finally looked down at the paper he held out to her and saw a picture of her grandfather. She felt like her body and mind were unable to understand what she was being told, even with the cries from her sisters ringing in her ears she still couldn't take it in. She looked over at Scorpius, who seemed to have the same expression she did, neither of them shedding a tear, only the look of pure shock on their faces.

Ember immediately attended to her sisters who were overwhelmed by the news. Her eyes locked with her brothers once more as he hugged Riley and Harper. He could pick up on Ember's thoughts and knew she couldn't break down right now in front of the girls, and so he did the same. He would hold it together for the sake of his sisters and to support Ember in their efforts to keep everyone sane and strong at this time.

So many things ran through Ember's head, first that she wanted to go to her grandmother and be there for her, but she knew that wasn't possible right now. The second was that her parents had no clue about it, or so she thought. She was also worried about Riley and Harper, but mostly Riley. She could tell she wasn't dealing with everything too well to begin with and now that their grandfather died she knew it would rip Riley apart. They all were close to their grandparents, but Riley and Harper were much closer with their grandfather than the rest of them were, especially Riley.

"I know how hard this is guys, but Grandpa was very sick-" Ember stopped talking when Riley ran from the kitchen followed by Harper.

"I'll go talk to her," Ellie said as she wiped her face and followed her sisters.

Aurora took in Ember's blank expression. "Ember?"

"Go get whatever you have and be ready to leave in five minutes," Ember said before she excused herself and walked down the hall into one of the guest bedrooms.

She paced the room as her emotions threatened to spill until her brother's entrance made her stop and look at him. She turned away from him, she was slipping and it wasn't until she felt Scorpius walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her that she fell apart. She turned to face him, his eyes welled with tears also as she began sobbing. She shook her head to try and rid herself of the breakdown she was about to have and quickly stopped crying.

"We can't do this right now... we just can't Scorpius, they need us. They need to see we have it together because they need to feel protected," she said through the tears she was quickly drying up on her sleeve.

He nodded in agreement as he wiped his face too and looked at her.

"I can't believe he's gone," she said in barely a whisper as the lump of emotions in the back of her throat made it hard for her to speak.

He gently grabbed her shoulders and looked at her. "I know, but as you said, we have to grieve later, right now we need to keep moving. Are you going to be ok?"

She nodded before they both wiped their eyes once more and made sure they looked a little less puffy eyed before joining their sisters in the hallway.

"Ember... Scorpius?"

They both turned to Blaise, who handed them a piece of paper with an address on it.

"The house at that address belonged to my great-grandparents, it was more of a vacation home. I have no clue if its even still standing, but if it is, it might be a good place to lay low for a bit until we figure things out," he said.

"We?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes, although I'm not the greatest of friends with your parents or was of your father's, I've known them a long time and I know they are better people than I ever thought them to be. I don't want to see any of you... or them get hurt. I will do what I can. It will take you a few days to get to that address, by then they will have already questioned me, but they might get that location out of me. Luckily, I am quite gifted at resisting Veritaserum, but just be careful once you get to that area."

"Thank you Mr. Zabini," Ember said.

"Blaise is fine," he said before his eyes fell on Raven as she led Scorpius to the side hall.

"I should come with you," she said.

"Are you crazy? No, way. You need to stay here."

She wiped her tears that freely fell from her green eyes. "Please be careful, I don't want to lose you."

He gently grabbed her face and kissed her, he could taste the salt from her tears on her lips. He took in the feel of her body against his and the smell of her hair as she hugged him tightly. His love for her growing more than it ever had. As he held her he realized he didn't want to let her go, he didn't want to leave her. He could feel her love for him in just the way she would place her hand on his chest or run her fingers through his hair. It was almost as if he was seeing her for the first time suddenly as she looked up into his eyes.

"I love you, Raven."

"I love you too," she said through her trembling lips as she softly cried.

"Alright, let's get going," Ember said as the hallway was filled with quiet sobs from her sisters.

They all froze when there was a hard knock at the door.

"Open up, Ministry business!" a man called through the door.

"Shit!" Ember mumbled as they all quickly ran towards the back door. "Let's go, stay quiet," she ordered.

"As soon as you get out back, go left and head that way, take all the back alleys," Blaise told them. "And good luck."

Ember nodded before they all slipped out of the back door and took off down the side streets.

* * *

She sat there with her head hanging as she wiped her face free of the tears that continued to spill. She watched Hermione place a cup of tea down in front of her before she took a seat across from her.

"We'll find them, Luna, I promise," Hermione said as she placed a comforting hand on hers.

Luna didn't say anything she just let out an emotional sigh.

Hermione gave her a sad smile before she turned to Ron, who was making his way downstairs. "How's Mum?"

He just shook his head before he sat beside her, his eyes red and puffy from the news of his father's passing. Hermione laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a light squeeze.

"What is our move here? They summoned you for questioning again after the kids went missing, which means they don't know where they are." Ron said. "They've questioned me, the kids, Luna, George... should I go on? Have you heard back from Kingsley yet?"

"No, nothing. I need to try and get in to see Ginny and Draco, they might know where they are."

"And if they question you again?"

"They don't have to tell me where the kids are, just as long as we know they are somewhere safe. That would at least be a big help, but I think that Ginny and Draco would have mentioned a safe house of some sort at some point over the years." Hermione said more to herself as she contemplated a few different things. "Ron we can't help them if we're constantly being questioned, maybe we should go into hiding ourselves for now?"

"But if we do that we are going to look like we're hiding something and I don't want to put the kids in danger like that, maybe we can leave them with Luna and you and I can go try and find some answers?" Ron suggested.

"No way, I am coming to help," Luna demanded.

"But Luna, I don't think Molly can handle all of this right now by herself. We need you to stay here with her." Hermione gently explained.

"I can't, I can't just sit here and do nothing. All I can think about is what they are doing to Harry in there or if my children are lying dead in the street somewhere. Maybe they've already captured them and they are being experimented on as we speak?" She went off on a rant before she started sobbing again.

"Luna, you have to calm down, look at me," Hermione said before Luna looked up at her through her teary eyes. "Do you remember whose kids are out there? They are Potters, Malfoys, and Weasleys... there is no way they are lying dead anywhere. They will fight and we will find them... I promise, you have to believe that."

She let Hermione's words sink in before she finally nodded.

* * *

She spit out the last bit of bile from her mouth in the toilet before she rested her elbows on the rim of the bowl and held her head in her hands.

"You ok?" she heard Draco call to her.

"Yeah!" she called out from the small bathroom to him before she pulled herself up and rinsed her mouth out.

She walked out into the open room and glanced over at him, his eyes holding concern for her and his unborn child's current health status.

"I'm fine, it's nothing that they've done if that's what you're thinking. After seven children I can tell what morning sickness is." she sighed before she walked over to the wall to meet him.

He studied her expression for a moment before she felt his eyes on her and looked back up at him. Their chances of escaping grew smaller and smaller with each passing day and they wondered just how much longer it would be before they took the experimentations too far.

They broke eye contact when the sound of the lab door opened and Jack Adwell walked in with his brother and Crystal. They hadn't seen Jack Adwell all that much since they had been here, only the day that Ember and Scorpius came with Hermione to see them.

"Good to see you three again." Mr. Adwell said as he approached the glass rooms. "I wanted to personally come by and congratulate you all on getting one over on me. I don't know how you did it, but I'll figure it out," he said.

The three of them exchanged a look of confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" Draco asked.

"Where are they? You might as well start talking because either way, the Veritaserum will make you spill your darkest secrets." Mr. Adwell went on.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Your kids, where are they?"

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

Mr. Adwell rubbed the side of his head in frustration. "They are missing, they are gone, not a trace except one of my men left dead in your home. Now tell me... where are they? Where have you sent them?" he asked, his tone angry.

Ginny's eyes went wide as she looked at Draco, tears welling in them. Mr. Adwell took note of this before the corners of his mouth turned up into an evil grin.

"So you don't know where they are?" he said with amusement. "Hermione Weasley was questioned earlier and she too did not know where they went. Blaise and Raven Zabini were also questioned this morning and they did indeed mention that they were there but had taken off again. Any idea of where they might be heading?"

"James and Bella too?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, Mr. Potter, every last one of your offsprings that might have some sort of magical powers... gone."

"You sent people to our home to collect our children for your fuckin experiments?" Draco growled out in anger, slamming his hands on the glass.

"Don't seem so surprised Mr. Malfoy, I think you all knew my true intentions."

"Yes, to test on us, but on our children? They are innocent in all of this, they didn't ask for their powers." Ginny snapped, wiping the tears from her face.

"Be that as it may, they are now up for grabs and I will do everything to find them. They won't get far, half their wands were left behind so most of them are out there defenseless. The only thing they have are those powers that they can barely control so they'll either get themselves killed or kill each other with how inexperienced they are with them." he said. "Until then, I will hunt them... and when I find them... well, I'll see which ones are worth keeping alive still." he laughed before he headed towards the door.

Ginny shed tears of anger and fear, she was scared for her children and what might happen to them or what could've already happened to them.

"Oh, and by the way Ginny." Mr. Adwell called out to her from the doorway. "Your father passed away this morning... sorry for your loss," he said before he left the lab and locked the door.

The words hit Ginny's ears, but they hadn't reached her enough to comprehend what he had said. She walked over to the glass wall and placed her hand on it as if he might come back and tell her he was lying. When she realized he wasn't returning, she lifted her hand to cover her mouth to muffle the emotional gasp that escaped.

"No... no," she choked out.

Her body trembled as she leaned her forehead against the glass and felt her legs start to give out. Her hands sliding down the wall until she was in a full fit of sobs, her breath hitting the glass forming a small patch of fog. She watched it slowly start to disappear from her view, her heart breaking as she thought of her father... her mother.

"Dad?" she whispered out as if he might actually answer her. "Oh Dad, I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you." she cried out softly.

She turned to Draco, his tear-filled eyes on her the whole time as he got down to her level. She crawled over to the wall where he was and leaned her forehead against where his was.

"He's gone... I... " she trailed off, her eyes locking with Harry's across the room, he was just as broken as she was. Her father was like a dad to both Harry and Draco all these years.

After seeing Harry breakdown and her not being able to comfort him or Draco, but just watch the agony fill them made her sob harder. Her thoughts went to her mother and how she wanted to be with her so badly right now to comfort her.

After a few moments of her balling her eyes out, she wiped her face and looked at Draco once more. "Where are they? Where are our children? Please tell me they are ok... please." she begged him, her body shaking with emotion.

He nodded. "Yes... they are ok." he choked out, his voice cracking.

* * *

"How much further?" Ember asked.

"Just around the corner here," Jake said, leading the way.

They followed him through a few back alleys to keep off the main street so they wouldn't be spotted by the wrong person. They all walked in silence, still the occasional sniffle from one of the girls, especially Riley. After a few more minutes they found themselves in a rather rundown part of town. A lot of people walking the streets or hanging around outside on the doorsteps. They could tell it was a very Muggle town from the sounds of the conversation and music that was heard playing in the distance.

"You've taken us to the ghetto?" Scorpius said with a slight sneer, tightening the watch on his hand to the next clasp.

"Relax, I know it's not the nicest area, but my buddy Reggie will be more than willing to help you guys out."

Jake knocked on Reggie's door and waited for a few moments for someone to answer. He knocked again. "Reggie! It's Jake!" he called out. He leaned over the hand railing to get a peek into the house. "Reggie? Open up!" he yelled once more.

"Yo, Jake, you looking for Regg?" asked a younger man walking over.

"Hey Jordan, yeah, do you know where he is?"

Jordan started shaking his head. "He's done, Andre came around."

"What do you mean he's done?" Jake asked, walking up to him.

"A bullet... right here," Jordan said, pointing to the space between his eyes.

Jake just stared at him before he quickly turned around and started walking away. "Let's go, we need to come up with a new plan," he said to Ember and Scorpius.

"You in some kind of trouble? You need to lay low or some shit for a bit?" Jordan called out.

"Yes." Ember quickly answered.

"No!" Jake called out. "Listen to me Ember, coming here was ok when I thought Reggie was still around, but this is not the place to lay low for a few hours. Let's just keep moving," he said as he gave Scorpius a look that pleaded with him to take his side on this.

"I'm with Jake, we don't need to be walking into trouble. We don't know these people and he barely does too... let's keep moving." Scorpius said.

"Well, can I at least use the bathroom before we continue on?" Harper whined.

They all looked at her.

"What? I have to go."

"Fine, Jordan can we intrude for just a few minutes?" Jake asked.

"For you Jake, anything," he said, leading the way to his small home a few houses down.

Scorpius grabbed the back of Jake's shirt and held him back a bit so he walked behind the rest of the group with him and Ember. "So tell me, Jacob, why it is you don't seem too surprised about your boy Reggie being... what's the correct phrase? Clipped?" he drawled.

"How did you meet these people?" Ember chimed in.

"Listen, I know it's a rough part of town, I get that and I have no intention of putting you guys in any more danger. A couple of years ago when I was desperate for money and a place to stay, Reggie helped me out and I stayed with him for a bit. Long story short, I got mixed up in some... not so legal things in order to survive and that's pretty much it. Andre is the one everyone around here answers to, but I've repaid all my debt to him and got the hell out of this area as soon as I could. I'm not surprised about Reggie because... as great of a friend he was to me... he pushed his luck with Andre and was constantly doing shady shit." Jake explained.

Scorpius and Ember exchanged a quick look before they nodded at his explanation.

"Well, let's get this over with and get out of here." Scorpius drawled once more as he walked ahead.

Jake turned to Ember, who was quiet. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know... for being more and more of a disappointment... a piece of-"

"Stop that." she cut him off, her tone angry. "I don't think that at all, in fact, what I was thinking was how I don't know as much about you as I would like. You're a great guy Jake and I love that you want to help us," she said before she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

They walked into the rundown house and was greeted by the smell of weed and cigarettes.

"Ew, it smells weird in here," Harper said, pinching her nose.

"Just go use the bathroom." Scorpius snapped before nodding for Aurora to go with her.

There was a crowd of people sitting on the couch and hanging out in the kitchen where Jordan led them to.

"This is my girl Kayla, that's my buddy Jerry over there, then you have..."

Scorpius stopped listening as Jordan went on to introduce the rest of everyone and turned to Jake and Ember. "You should try to ask your homedog or whatever you call him for some cash for us. If we're going to be traveling through Muggle towns, then we'll need Muggle money. From the looks of the drugs flowing from the house, I'm sure it shouldn't be an issue." he simply said.

"I rather not, I don't want to get involved like that," Jake said.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Scorpius shouted, grabbing a cup out of Ellie's hands.

"I was thirsty."

"I don't care, don't you drink anything from this place," he said, pouring the drink out in the sink.

"It was just juice." she snapped.

"You're too trusting Ellie. It may seem like juice, but then you find yourself face down on-"

"Scorpius!" Ember called to him.

He looked at the expression she gave him before he turned back to Ellie. "Just don't drink anything," he said firmly.

"You guys hungry? I don't know how long you're sticking around, but we got some burgers going out back." Jordan offered.

"Hell, yeah, I'm starving," James said following Jordan out back.

"James? Are you nuts?" Ember asked.

"I don't care, we don't even know when we'll get a chance to eat again after this so I'll take my chances." he shrugged before he disappeared out of the back door with Bella beside him.

Ava started crying and Riley handed her over to Ember before she followed James outside.

"She's probably hungry too." Ember sighed as she looked at Scorpius and bit her lip.

He shook his head in defeat. "I'll go cut up a burger for her I guess," he smirked before he went outside.

"It's good that he's hesitant," Jake said. "For the most part Jordan and these guys are cool, it's when Andre comes around that you don't want to be here for."

"How did you meet Reggie?" Ember asked as she gestured to the yard when Aurora and Harper were looking for the others and watched them make their way outside.

"It was when I was home one summer from Hogwarts and I was trying to make some money to get out of my mum's place. I went down to the corner store to try and pick up a job and Reggie actually mugged me."

"What!" She said out loud, a small laugh escaping her mouth.

"Yeah, after he realized I had nothing he just suddenly came out with an offer I couldn't refuse... the rest... well..." he trailed off.

"That's quite amusing." she giggled.

"I know, despite his intentions to rob me he really was a good guy. It's scary to see what lengths people will go to in times of desperation."

She nodded at his words. "Yeah... it is."

* * *

Draco walked over to the wall connected to Ginny's room and squatted down to the spot she had been sitting in for hours.

"Gin?"

Her back was to him as her head hung, her copper strands falling all around her face. "Hm?"

"We really need to start thinking of a way out of here."

She was quiet for a few moments before she finally turned towards him. "Do you remember the Ferris Wheel?" she asked softly, her eyes gazing up to meet his.

He looked into her red puffy eyes, the dried tear tracks he saw on her cheeks broke his heart. "Of course," he said with a small smile.

"I remember feeling such peace at that moment... up there with you... looking down and seeing all those lights."

He smiled at the memory. "Me too."

"That was the night I thought I might be pregnant." she sighed as she thought back to that night so long ago, a small smile stretching across her face before it faded again. "I miss them so much Draco." she choked out, fresh tears spilling down her face.

Draco just listened to her cry, he felt so helpless. He turned to Harry, who watched Ginny's breakdown.

"I don't even know what to say anymore," Draco said to him as he walked across the room over to Harry. "I have no clue where to even begin to try and get out of here."

"Yeah, and say we did make it out of these damn boxes, we have no idea what kind of security the rest of this place has. We don't even know where we're at." Harry said as he looked around the lab as if some sort of answer would come to him.

They all turned their attention to the door opening and one of the lab workers came in and made her way over to them.

"We just need to get some more blood from you, Ginny," she said as she grabbed the supplies she needed to take a few samples and placed them on a tray that she wheeled over with her.

"What else is new?" Ginny mumbled as she stood up and wiped her face.

The lady unlocked her room and walked inside over to the chair Ginny took a seat in. They were used to being poked and prodded by now, they came for blood samples multiple times a day so it became routine. Draco walked over like he always did to make sure they didn't do anything else to her. It's not like he could do much to stop them, but just being able to keep an eye on her gave him a small amount of comfort.

Ginny glanced up at Draco, locking eyes with him for a moment before her gaze fell on the needle sitting on the table in front of her. She looked back at Draco again, she was unsure if he could read her intentions.

Ginny watched the lady's eyes leave the table in front of them as she grabbed something else off of her tray on the side. Ginny quickly grabbed the needle off of the table as her head was turned.

"You must be tired of getting blood taken by now." the lady said as she tied the tourniquet around Ginny's arm.

She wiped it clean with a little alcohol wipe and turned to grab the needle when she realized it was gone. She turned to the tray beside her and when it wasn't there she turned and looked directly at Ginny.

Before she could say or do anything Ginny plunged the needle right into her eye.

"Holy shit!" Draco yelled at the scene that took place before him. The woman's screams filling the room. "Ginny, the door!" he shouted to her as she seemed to be shocked by her own actions.

After she snapped out of her state of shock, she quickly grabbed the key card from around the woman's neck despite her attempts at trying to stop Ginny. She took one last look at the lady screaming on the ground before she ran out of the room. She ran over to Draco's room and tried swiping the card, her hands trembling the whole time.

"Fuck, it's not working. There must be a different card for each room," she said.

"Over there, near the door, there are other ones hanging up," Harry said, pointing across the room.

She quickly went running over when they heard the door unlocking as someone else was about to walk in. Ginny frantically looked around the room for some sort of weapon. She saw there was a small surgical area with different tools on a tray and she grabbed a scalpel off of it and ran over to the door. She leaned up against the wall as the door opened up and swung her hand out at the person, who quickly jumped out of the way.

She realized it was Crystal and she swung her arm again at her, the scalpel firmly grasped in her hand.

"It's in your best interest to give up and get back in your room." Crystal said as she dodged another one of Ginny's attempts to wound her.

"Yeah, I bet," Ginny said through clenched teeth as she threw herself forward at Crystal.

Crystal was a lot quicker than Ginny thought she would be as she felt the back of her hand collide with her face, making Ginny stumble back a bit before she ran at her again. This time Crystal lifted her foot and kicked Ginny right in the chest so hard she flew backward across the room.

"Ginny!" Draco yelled out, pounding on the glass in an attempt to break through.

Ginny felt the small blade fall from her hand and desperately tried to find it again as Crystal neared her. She grabbed her chest as she winced in pain and finally she felt the edge of the sharp instrument and snatched it just as Crystal approached her. She went to plunge it right into her chest when she heard it hit something hard, like metal, she could feel the painful vibrations run down her wrist making her drop the scalpel. Her eyes went wide when she saw Crystal 's skin completely turn to metal.

"What? How?... " she couldn't find words to express the shock she felt.

"I told you it was in your best interest to give up," she said before she swung her metal covered fist at Ginny's face and everything went black.

* * *

"If you do it that way, you'll see more of a profit and you need to keep better track of who you front because you're losing a lot of business," he said, pointing to the notes that Jordan took down.

"Scorpius!" Ember called over to him. "Can I please talk to you for a moment," she said with a forced smile.

"Sure," he simply said before he got up from the couch and made his way through the crowd of people that had formed around him and Jordan. "What's up?"

"What's up? We should have been out of here hours ago, but instead, you're sitting in there giving them drug selling advice-"

"Business advice." he cut her off.

"It's drugs!" she exclaimed as loud as she could without anyone hearing her.

"It's still business, though."

"Ok, anyway, everyone is getting a little too comfortable. Ava is sleeping in that girl Kayla's lap, some other girl is braiding Ellie's hair, Bella is... I don't even know where." she said as she looked around real quick for her. "You're in here, giving them business tips and I'm pretty sure James and Aurora aren't passing the joint anymore, but rather hitting it now, so can you please help me collect them all and be on our way?" she pleaded with him.

Scorpius started laughing at her rant.

"It's not funny!" she said, slapping him before a small smile formed on her face and she let out a giggle or two.

"Ok, let's go get them. Fuck, if Mum and Dad knew what we were doing-"

"Honestly, Dad would probably be angrier at the fact that we left James alone with Aurora." Ember laughed.

"And Mum would probably just laugh at the entire thing," he said with a smirk.

Both of their laughter died down and they both fell silent, the only sound was the Muggle TV in the background and the conversation that filled the house.

"I miss them," Ember said. "I miss us all being together."

Scorpius put his arm around her and pulled in into a one-armed hug. "Me too, let's go get the clan together."

"Uh, guys we need to go... like now," Jake said suddenly.

"Why, what's wrong?" Ember asked; she could see the panic in his eyes.

"Two things, one... that guy Andre just pulled up and two, the bigger problem, is that," he said, pointing to the Muggle TV on the kitchen counter.

They both turned to see pictures of all of them on the news with a generous award being offered to anyone who had information on their whereabouts.

"Are you fuckin kidding me? They went as far as carrying this over into the Muggle World?" Scorpius spat.

Scorpius ran outside where James and Aurora were, he snatched Ava up off Kayla's lap and kept walking over to them. "We need to go, now. So pull yourselves together because our faces are all over the bloody news," he whispered to them.

James and Aurora jumped up from their seats and James grabbed Bella from the lawn chair she had fallen asleep on outside. They met back up with Ember and Jake, who rounded up everyone else and headed towards the door.

"Jake, you leaving already? Don't you want to say hi to Andre before you go?" Jordan asked as he noticed his quick exit.

"Listen, thanks for letting us stay here for a few hours Jordan, but we need to leave now and I would rather it be before Andre sees us here," Jake said, his eyes traveling over to the TV set behind Jordan again.

He saw Andre make his way into the front door and he cursed under his breath before he quickly turned around and grabbed Ember's arm to start leading them out of the back instead.

"So it's true!" Andre called out, making them all stop in their tracks. "Jacob... it's good to see you again," he said as he walked closer to them.

"Hello Andre, we were just leaving," he said as he turned to leave. A few of Andre's guys blocked the back door before they could exit. "What do you want Andre? I don't have any unfinished business with you."

"It's not you I'm interested in... it's them," he said, nodding to the others. "See, Jordan gave me a head's up when he first saw their faces all over the news earlier this morning."

"What the fuck Jordan?" Jake growled out, making a move to attack him when Ember grabbed his arm.

"I'm sorry Jake, it's just, I owed Andre from some other shit and I had to come up with some way to repay him. They're offering a hefty reward for that lot behind you." Jordan tried to explain.

"Some homie you have you there," Scorpius mumbled to Jake.

"I'm sorry Jake, I didn't want to end up like Reggie," Jordan said.

"Ah yes, poor Reggie, he too tried to fix things last minute with me," Andre said, looking at Jordan. "But it didn't matter in the end, he still owed me, just like you do," he said before he brought his gun up and shot Jordan in the head, blood splattering all over the wall behind him.

There were screams that filled the house and people attempted to run.

"Nobody move!" Andre yelled, making them all stop.

Scorpius handed Ava over to Ember before he made his way towards Andre. He tried to push the image of Jordan getting his brains blown out in front of him aside.

"Listen, Andy-"

"Andre"

"Whatever, we are leaving here now, so is there something we could work out here to let the rest of this end peacefully?" Scorpius suggested.

Andre took a step closer to him and looked him over. He motioned for his men to check the others for any weapons. After a few moments, they only brought over the few items they did manage to find in their pockets, which were just the few wands they had left from their quick escape from the Manor.

Andre laughed. "Wands... so you lot are from the freak land?"

"Freak land?" Scorpius asked with a raised eyebrow looking at Jake.

"His terminology for the Wizarding World."

"Ah, well, that's not very nice Andy." Scorpius sarcastically drawled.

Andre just gave a small chuckle before he took the wands that were found on them and snapped them all in half. "The news said that you all were supposed to be dangerous... well, now that you don't have your magic wands I guess you're not so dangerous anymore are you?" he grinned.

"Is that what the news is saying?" Scorpius asked. "Hm, interesting. So I take it you're going to try to turn us in and collect the reward?"

"Exactly."

"That's a great idea, I would probably do the same thing honestly if I were a dashing young man like yourself. The only issue is that we actually have a different plan and it includes us walking out of that door before anyone else gets hurt."

"That's up to you," Andre said as he nodded to one of his men who grabbed Aurora and dragged her over to him.

James instinctively ran forward, but the sound of Andre firing his gun into the air a few times made him stop in his tracks.

"Don't be stupid," he said, as he pointed the gun at Aurora.

She let out a small hiss when the tip of his gun was pressed against her cheek as the heat from the barrel burned her.

The sound of his sister's whimper as she feared for her life made any attempt to end this in a peaceful way completely diminish. Ember could feel the coldness start to surround her as she saw Scorpius' powers start to surface.

"Be careful, one wrong move and he could kill her," she whispered in his ear before he did something he'd regret.

He nodded, but it wasn't his powers they should've been worried about, it was James'.

"James... "

James heard Scorpius quietly call his name, but his attention was only on Aurora. If there was ever a time he wished he had control of his powers, it was now. He could feel his heart racing as fear filled him with the possibility of Aurora getting hurt.

His eyes locked with Aurora's, she knew his intentions and she could see the uncertainty on his face. The lights flickered for a moment before each one started popping and an electrical current danced across the ceiling of the house and shot down right at Andre, making him jump back in surprise.

As soon as Aurora felt the electricity hit her, she threw herself forward to avoid any harm that would come to her from either Andre or James' powers. She felt Scorpius pull her over to him as everyone started scrambling to get out of the house. Andre grabbed his gun off the ground that he had dropped and went running towards them when Scorpius froze his legs in place making him fall to the ground, his gun going off as it hit the floor.

Scorpius heard it go off and he quickly pulled Aurora aside as he threw himself in front of her, his fingers digging into her arms as he awaited the bullet to hit him. When it didn't, he opened his eyes to see it frozen half an inch away from his face. He let out a hard breath before he turned to Aurora and gave her a confused look, her eyes wide with surprise. They were both pulled from their close call by the sounds of other gunshots going off in the house and everyone pushing past them to get out of the house.

They all went running out the back door and out of the side fence. Ember had Ava clutched to her body tightly as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure all her sisters were right behind her.

James was dragging Bella with him, the tingling sensation still running through his fingers making her want to pull her hand away from his, but he held her tightly and forced her to hold on. They all went running towards the small wooded area coming up in the back of another house down the street, the sun was almost completely set as darkness filled their path ahead.

The sound of gunshots filled the air again and the sound of someone's painful scream rang out, causing them all to turn around.

Their eyes fell on Riley as she fell to her knees.

"Riley? RILEY!" Ember went to run back to her, but Scorpius pushed her back and ran towards her.

"GO ON! WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" he yelled back to her before he scooped Riley up in his arms and started running back towards the woods.

They were still being followed, shots were still being fired as they ran deeper and deeper into the woods. They could barely tell where to run or what path was clear as sharp tree branches clawed at their faces as they kept running.

"Fuck this," Scorpius said as he stopped and placed Riley down against a tree.

He turned back to one of Andre's men that was close behind them and formed a thick wall of ice right in his path, making him run right into it before falling to the ground. Before he could scramble to get back up, Scorpius let the heavy wall of ice fall on top of him. There were three more guys running at him and the ground beneath them turned to ice making them slip. One of them fell on his back and slid right in front of Scorpius' feet.

Scorpius saw him begin to shake with fear. "Please don't kill me," he begged.

"Why the hell not? You tried to kill us." he sneered at the man.

He looked at Riley slumped against the tree nearby and then back at the man. He looked away from him as he held his hand out and iced his head over before he brought his foot up and slammed it down on his head. He looked up at the other two men who retreated after seeing their friend killed and took off running.

Scorpius turned back to the rest of them, none of them saying a word at his actions as he picked Riley back up and they kept moving forward. They ran for a few more minutes before they were sure nobody else was following them.

Scorpius dropped to his knees and laid Riley down. "I can't see fuckin shit, Ember get over here!" he yelled to her.

She ran over and ignited a small flame in her hand to give them some light. She looked up at Riley's face, she wasn't making any noise, she was just staring back at her.

"It's her right shoulder, I can't find where the bullet is," Scorpius said, as he frantically searched for anything around of use. "Does anyone have a fuckin wand?"

"We don't have anything." Ellie cried.

"Is she going to die?" Harper asked.

Scorpius ignored the question, the sound of Bella and Ava crying was ringing in his ears. "James, get them the fuck away from here now!" he yelled to him. "They don't need to see this." he continued, his tone calmer when he saw the scared looks on all of their faces.

James and Aurora quickly gathered the girls around and walked ahead a bit.

Ember and Jake knelt down beside Riley and Scorpius and she watched him just stop all of a sudden. She could tell he wasn't sure what to do. "Scorpius?" she whispered to him, tears falling down her face.

He looked up at her, his own tears threatening to fall. She watched him quickly wipe his face on his sleeve before grabbing Riley up into a sitting position, her eyes finally rolling to the back of her head as she passed out.

"Ok, ok... let me see if I can feel where... " he trailed off as he slowly stuck one of his fingers in where the wound was and felt around for the bullet.

Ember made her flame grow brighter as she could see he needed more light.

He cursed under his breath when blood just kept pouring from the hole in her shoulder. He pulled his hand back and let it hover above her shoulder for a moment as a light frost covered the wound so he could slide his finger in and hopefully better feel around for the bullet.

"Be careful, you don't want to cause more harm to her." Jake gently offered his advice as feelings of guilt filled him for putting them in that situation.

Scorpius just nodded at his words before he finally pulled his hand back with a tiny piece of metal between his fingers.

"Shit," he said, throwing the piece of metal across the woods with such anger before he screamed out in frustration.

"What? What is it?" Ember asked.

"It shattered, there are bullet fragments scattered about, I can't do anything, not without magic or getting her to a hospital." he choked out, trying to refrain from completely losing it.

"A hospital, but we'll be captured for sure if we go there," Ember said.

"I know... I know." he was quiet for a moment before he looked at the burning flame in her hand and then at Riley's bleeding wound. "You need to cauterize it," he said suddenly. "We need to try something, I'm not a fuckin doctor or a healer, but I know enough about attempting to stop a wound from bleeding," he explained once he saw the look Ember gave him.

"You want me to use my powers to... to..."

"Yes!" Scorpius and Jake both said together.

Her hands trembled as she held the other hand close to her sisters wound. She let out a shaky breath before she released a steady stream of heat against her skin. Riley's eyes snapped open as the burning sensation sent her body into a complete panic.

"It's taking too long, forget about being gentle and just do it," Scorpius said; his tone firm.

Riley tried to squirm away, but Scorpius held her still. "Hey, it's ok, everything is going to be fine... ok?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but instead, a scream escaped her lips as Ember took the ball of fire that had been burning brightly and let it dance around her fingers before she stuck two of them inside the wound. Scorpius covered Riley's mouth to quiet her screams in fear of drawing attention to them.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry Riley, it's almost over," he whispered to her.

The heels of her shoes dug into the dirt as she tried to scramble away from the pain, her hands clawing at the grass beneath them as Jake held her still. Finally, all movement stopped, all the muffled screams beneath Scorpius' hands silenced and her head fell to the side as she passed out again.

 **A/N: Ok, so I really would love some feedback on this chapter. I know not everyone is a reviewer, but some kind of feedback would be amazing. How did you enjoy it? What are your thoughts on the scene with Ginny and Crystal? How about our poor Riley? Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Got this one out a little quicker this time! A lot going on in this one too, more info to absorb. Hope you guys continue to enjoy it. Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed, it means A LOT!**

 **If you haven't already, be sure to join my Facebook fanfic page where I post updates and chapter previews. The link can be found on my profile page.**

 **Enjoy!**

The front door swung open as she quickly ran inside. "DAD! DAD!" she screamed throughout the entire house.

"Raven? What's wrong?" Blaise asked as he quickly ran up to her, his wand drawn and ready to attack.

"Dad, I need to show you something," she said, handing him a small pile of papers.

He looked her over real quick to make sure she was ok after the scare she gave him at her alarming entrance before he turned his attention to the papers in his hand.

He scanned it over for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so it's Noah Adwell's medical record, why are you showing me this?" he asked.

"Because of this," she said, turning the page and pointing to the part for him to read.

After a few moments of reading, he had a confused look on his face. "I don't understand, these are discharge papers... but Noah died."

"That's what I'm saying... I've searched for a death record for him or anything from his supposed death, but nothing. He was discharged the morning that Scorpius and James were arrested for his murder. He was released, of course, to his father." Raven explained.

"So Noah's alive?"

"Yes!"

"What the hell is Adwell up to?" Blaise mumbled to himself.

He noticed Raven grab a bag from the hall closet and run into her bedroom and he walked over to her doorway to find her throwing clothes and other things quickly into it.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think? To go find Scorpius and the others and tell them what's going on... to help them."

Blaise grabbed the bag from her and threw it across the room. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you risk your life for these people... for him."

"And you're crazy if you think you can actually stop me." she snapped.

"Raven, stop it, you're staying right here where it's safe!" he demanded, trying to block her from leaving. "There is nothing out there worth dying for!" he yelled.

"I would gladly die for Scorpius!" she yelled back at him.

"You don't know what you're talking about Raven, Scorpius is a fine young man and all, but it's in your best interest to forget about him and focus on moving on."

"Moving on? You said you would help them and do what you can, this is doing what you can?" she snarled at him.

"And I will do what I can, but you are staying put," he demanded once more.

"No, Dad-"

"That's final Raven, I-"

"DAD LISTEN TO ME!" she screamed.

He stopped and looked at her, her eyes filling with tears. "I love him and I can't sit here at home knowing he's out there in trouble. You told me that I was the only thing you had left in this world." she cried. "And if you try to stop me and if you don't help me, then I swear to you... you'll have nothing left... nothing." she cried with anger in her voice as her eyes pierced into his.

He let her words sink in for a moment as he looked at the seriousness in her eyes as she defended her love for Scorpius. He walked over to her bag that was on the floor and picked it up and looked at it for a moment before he handed it over to her.

Her lips trembled with emotion as she took it from him; guilt filling her for threatening her relationship with him like that.

"I'll help... I'll help them," he said before he pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Draco woke up in the same spot on the couch he had been sitting since Ginny was knocked unconscious by Crystal. He rubbed his face and glanced over to see Harry asleep in his room before he noticed someone was in Ginny's room sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, as he quickly ran over to the wall to get a better look.

"No need to worry, I'm just changing her bandage." the young lady said as she finished covering the large gash Ginny had above her eye. "She's definitely going to feel this when she wakes up, this bruise is intense."

Draco studied the girl, she couldn't be much older than Scorpius or Ember. He hadn't seen her before in the lab and she looked somewhat familiar.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

She glanced over to him before she looked back down at Ginny. "Three or four weeks," she said softly.

"I don't understand."

She looked back up at him. "Your wife, she's about three or four weeks pregnant."

Draco just nodded.

The girl walked out of Ginny's room and then stopped in front of Draco's before opening the small window and slid a small picture through to him.

He looked at her once more before he walked over and picked it up. It was a sonogram of the baby, his and Ginny's child. A smile stretched across his face before he looked back up at her.

"Thanks," he said. "Do I know you, because you look familiar?"

She shook her head.

He was quiet for a moment. "What's your name?"

She gave him a small smile before she looked over at a large dry erase board hanging on the wall. Draco watched one of the markers start to hover and even uncap itself before it started writing on the board to spell out a word.

Draco stepped closer to the wall to get a better look. "Eve? So that's your name? And you have powers also?"

She walked closer to him, the whole time the board in the background was erasing itself. "I am a Half-Blood, who, like Crystal... my sister... was brought here and experimented on."

"And now you both work for Adwell? How could you work for him when you both were his personal lab rats?" Draco said with a sneer, some disgust in tone.

She was right up against the glass now, her eyes locking with his. "Because Jack Adwell is my father," she whispered to him.

"Eve!" They both turned to Crystal who barged into the room. "There you are, I don't want you in here, now get out!" she demanded.

Eve locked eyes with Draco one last time before she turned and quickly left the lab. Draco quickly pocketed the sonogram she had given him in case it was to bring him any trouble for having it.

"Mr. Malfoy, your children were spotted in a Muggle neighborhood a few hours ago."

"What? Are they ok?"

"I don't know and I don't care. The only important thing out of this is that we have an idea of where they are headed to next," she said coldly.

She saw the worried expression on his face and she rolled her eyes at herself for feeling the least bit sorry for him. "The only thing I know is that there were a few dead bodies, but none of them belonged to any of you. There were a lot of bullets and there was a lot of blood, some leading in the direction we think they had went, so more than likely one of them is hurt... badly. I can't be certain."

Draco felt his stomach drop at the news that one of the kids could be hurt or even dead by now.

She pulled out a picture from a file she had in hand. "Jacob Warren, you know him?"

He nodded.

"He was apparently with them. We also went back to Mr. Zabini's to further question him and his daughter and they are nowhere to be found... neither is your sister and brother-in-law Ron and Hermione Weasley. You have any idea where any of these people are or where they could be going?"

Draco wasn't sure what to do with the information she gave him, all he could think about was what the hell was going on outside of this glass box he was in. His mind only on the possibility that one of his kids could be hurt.

After Crystal saw his reaction to her question she could tell he knew nothing of what was going on and turned to leave.

"I'd get some more rest, Mr. Malfoy... you'll need it for later," she said before she left the lab.

* * *

The sound of ripping fabric reached his ears and made him jump out of the ten minutes of sleep he had accidentally dozed off for. He crawled out of the tight cave-like area they took shelter in a few hours ago to see it wasn't even morning yet. The sun barely shone on anything in the woods that surrounded them, still leaving everything almost black. Scorpius walked back over towards Ember, as she continued to rip pieces of the shirt she was wearing over her tank top.

"You sleep?" she asked.

"Ten minutes or so, it was an accident really," he said, taking the ripped shirt from her and kneeling down next to Riley. He re-wrapped her wound up the best he could before he just shook his head. "Ember?"

She looked up at him, he could see her steel gray eyes piercing into his even in the dark. "I don't think she's going to make it."

She ignored him before she ripped another piece of her shirt that she had a bit left of and wrapped it around her thigh.

"What happened?" he asked before he crawled over to help her.

"It's just a graze... a mere scratch compared to Riley's," she said as she winced when Scorpius tied the fabric tight around her thigh.

They both just sat there in silence before Scorpius felt Ember's body beside him shake with sobs. She tried to cry as quietly as possible as she covered her mouth with her hands. She could smell the dried blood on her fingers, the wetness from her tears making it smear all about.

"I pr-promised Mum I w-would keep them safe... that I would p-protect them." she cried. "I failed them... I failed them all. They c-can't even t-trust me to keep them out of danger."

Scorpius wiped a few silent tears that spilled down his face as he listened to her. He was angry at the situation, he was mad that they were out here like this with no way to help themselves or especially Riley. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Neither of them said another word, they both eventually dozed off against the tree they were sitting against for about a half hour. It was the sound of the ruffling and crunching of leaves that made Ember and Scorpius wake up again and jump to their feet.

"Mum! Dad!" Riley cried out as the rising sun lit up her pale face.

"Riley, hey, shh!" Ember said as she ran to her side. "Hey, you're with us, remember?" she gently reminded her as she saw panic start to set in on Riley's face.

Riley went to sit up when she seemed to have taken her injury in for the first time and completely lost it. The small movement she did manage to make made her wound bleed even more.

"Stop moving, you're going to make it worse." Scorpius tried to explain to her as calmly as possible as she completely started freaking out.

"Am I going to die?" Riley asked them as she stared up at Ember and Scorpius hovering over her. "I'm going to die... I am." she cried, her breathing rapid.

"No, you are not going to die, you need to calm down," Ember said, stroking her hair to try and soothe her.

She could see how much pain she was in and her heart completely broke to pieces. Her sister's wails of agony filled the woods surrounding them as she thrashed beneath her calming hands. Just as she didn't know what more to do for her, Riley passed out again making her feel for her pulse. She leaned her ear down over her mouth and felt the small bit of warm air hit her.

Ember looked up at Scorpius who was kneeling across from her. The morning sun made them both able to take in how much of their sister's blood they were covered in. Embers lips trembled with emotion before she turned to see everyone was up and watching them... watching Riley, to see if she had taken her last breath.

She didn't know what to say to them, it was the sound of someone in the distance that made her snap her head in the other direction.

"We have to go," Scorpius said as more than one person was visible through the trees in the distance heading right towards them.

He scooped Riley up and started running with the others before making sure everyone was accounted for. It wasn't long before the first spell flew past one of them and then a few more zoomed past and started hitting the trees around them.

"JUST KEEP RUNNING! DO NOT STOP!" Ember yelled to them all.

They were chased for what seemed like forever until they finally stopped to catch their breath, they knew people were still out there, looking for them. They could hear them calling out to them in the distance to surrender.

Scorpius put Riley down for a moment, his shoulders and arms were on fire as he carried her the whole time. He stared down at her, she looked dead; her wound just pouring blood.

"Leave her," Ember suddenly whispered out.

"What?" Scorpius asked her again, unsure of what he heard her say.

She started crying. "She is dying... she will die if we keep dragging her along with us. Let them take her, they will help her. I know that sounds crazy Scorpius, but they want us to experiment on... for our powers. They will save her before they test on her, I'm sure of it. Hopefully, we can figure something out before it comes to that, but right now... she is going to die." she turned to Jake and the others, nobody said anything.

Scorpius just stared at her, his eyes welled with tears before he shook his head. "No, we can't leave her."

They could hear people making their way closer and closer to them.

Ember reached forward and took her brother's hand. "We have to."

He stood up next to her and they both just stared down at their dying sister.

"Ember?" Riley called to her in a small frail voice.

Ember kneeled down beside her. "Hey, you're going to get help... they will take you to Mum and Dad... I promise," she said with a small smile as her tears fell on Riely's cheek.

She got back up and took off running with the others and took cover behind a large boulder as they waited for the men to pass.

"Ember! Scorpius! Come back!" Riley called out in the distance. "Please don't leave me!" her frail voice echoed out.

Ember had both of her hands tightly pressed against her mouth to suppress her sobs. The feeling of guilt ripping her apart as she heard the fear in Riley's voice as she cried and begged for them not to leave her. After a few moments, they heard the pop of a few of the men apparating and Riley's pleas came to a stop.

Once she knew Riley was gone, she fell to her knees and lost it. She cried for everything she was keeping in. All signs of strength seemed to completely fade as she crumbled before them all.

* * *

A couple of hours had gone by since Riley was taken and silence was the only thing that surrounded them all. Nobody spoke, nobody hardly even cried since Ember's breakdown earlier, nobody except Ava. Everyone was just in complete shock at this point.

"You found a stream?"

Aurora nodded before she collected some of the water in a small container they had found along the way.

James pulled out a crushed plastic bottle they had found and filled it with some water as well, his eyes falling on Aurora.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her. "Back there when..."

She didn't even look up at him, she still had tears in her eyes from the events earlier. She shook her head at his question. "No." she choked out. "Just a small burn, but no... you didn't hurt me," she said through her cracking voice.

His eyes were locked on her, he just wanted to grab her and hold her. He finally saw her look up at him, her eyes swollen and red, her face full of scratches and dirt from being in the woods.

"I'm sorry James, I'm sorry I've treated you so horribly these past few days." she cried.

He quickly kneeled down beside her and grabbed her into a hug. Her hair still smelled like he remembered it even though it had twigs and leaves in it. Her body still held the warmth he loved feeling whenever she was near him even though they had been out in the cold and on the run all night. She held him tightly like she never wanted to let go and it made him feel the happiest he had felt in a while.

He pulled back a bit and stared at her, her bright blue eyes glistening through the tears that filled them. He wanted to kiss her just like every other time he looked at her, but he didn't want to take advantage of her emotional state.

He wiped a tear away with his thumb before he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Happy Birthday Aurora."

She gave him a small smile before he took the container from her and brought it back to the rest of them. She wiped the rest of her tears off on her sleeve as she watched Scorpius make his way down to the water. Her stomach was in knots at the sight of him as he washed the dried blood from his hands.

She made her way over to him and took a seat as she pulled out a piece of fabric from her pocket. They didn't speak, one thing Aurora has been always jealous of was Ember's relationship with Scorpius, they were the closest out of all her siblings. Her and Scorpius never really had that bond like he and Ember did. Sure, he was the typical big brother, but even though they looked alike, there was nothing special they shared... nothing like what he had with Ember.

"Try using this," she said as she handed him the cloth.

He scrubbed his hands as hard as he could. She watched him become frustrated with the amount of effort it was taking to wash his hands free of his sister's blood. She looked at his bloodstained shirt and saw the look of defeat cover his face as all scrubbing came to a stop.

She leaned over and took his hands and wet the cloth again and started wiping them clean, she could feel his eyes on her.

"Thanks for saving my life back there... at Jordan's," he said.

She shook her head. "What are you talking about, you saved mine," she said, not looking at him.

"No.," he said firmly. "You saved mine."

She looked up at him... he knew.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

She could feel him grow angry by her lack of confession to having powers as he grabbed the rag back from her and went back to scrubbing his hands in the stream. She just sat there in silence for a few more moments before she placed her fingertip on the surface of the water and let it start to ice over.

Scorpius felt the water around his hands turn cold and then watched it start to turn to ice as he pulled his hands out. He turned to look at her as she pulled her finger back and gave him a small smile. Even though he was pretty positive it was Aurora who saved him back there, he wasn't positive, but seeing her powers right here, right now made it certain, which brought a smile to his face.

"So it's true," he said more to himself than to her.

He wanted to ask her so many questions. Did she have a decent handle on them? Was she able to do things he couldn't? Was she scared of them? Was that why she never said anything? As he thought about all of the questions he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit hurt that she never said anything to him of all people.

He decided that there were far more important things to be upset over and knew Aurora must have her reasons so he left it alone.

"How do you feel... about having them?" he asked her.

She smirked at the question. "I feel like... I understand myself more with them... like something was missing this whole time, but now... not so much." she scoffed at her own words. "Does that even make sense?"

"Maybe not to everyone, but to me... yeah, it does."

"James was the first to know about them... he told me to tell Mum and Dad, but everything sort of got hectic after that so I didn't want to make things worse."

"You could have come to me." he snapped with some unintentional anger in his voice.

They locked eyes for a few moments as silence filled the air before she finally nodded.

After a few moments, he threw the rag aside after giving up on trying to get all the dried blood out from under his nails.

"Do you think we made the right decision? Do you think she's alive?" Aurora asked.

"I hope so." he sighed before standing up and holding out his hand for her to take.

She looked at his outstretched hand before she took it and pulled herself up.

"So how does it feel to be seventeen?" he asked her.

She smirked at the question. "Right now... it sucks."

* * *

Ginny's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry for a few moments before she finally could make out the room she was in. She was hopeful for the tiniest of moments that she would wake up in the Manor to the sound of Ava's cooing. She tried to lift her head, but she felt like it weighed a ton and brought her hand up to her head. She felt a bandage and that's when memories of her encounter with Crystal flooded her mind.

"You're finally awake, I was worried sick about you. You've been out for almost a whole day... how do you feel?" Draco asked.

She finally managed to sit up, as she tucked her hair behind her ear, she heard Draco wince at the bruise on her face.

"Is it that bad?" she asked.

He nodded as she stood up and walked over to the mirror. "Fuck," she whispered out.

She looked across at Harry, who had the same painful expression on his face that Draco did as he studied her bruise.

"I know the answer to this already, but any news on the kids? My mother?" she asked as she walked over to meet Draco by the wall.

"Nothing from your mother, but I have a lot to tell you."

He went on to tell her everything Eve told him and what Crystal told him about the last known whereabouts of the kids.

"So one of them is hurt," she said to herself as worry covered her face. "You don't think-"

"They are all alive." Draco cut her off, his tone firm as he looked at the tears welling in her eyes.

"For now." came a voice from the across the room.

Crystal walked over to them as each one of their doors unlocked. "Let's go for a walk."

The three of them walked outside of their rooms, Ginny's first instinct was to run into Draco's arms. She missed his touch so much, she didn't realize how much she longed for his embrace until he was right there in front of her. Before she could reach him, her fingertips almost reaching his, she was pulled away by a guard and had her hands bound in front of her followed by Draco and Harry's.

"Where are you taking us?" Harry asked.

"I think there's something you all should see," she said as she led the way out of the room.

Three guards stood behind each one of them as they followed her out into the hall. They walked down a long hall, each one secured on either end with a padlocked door. She led them into a pair of double doors and into what looked like an operating room. She stopped in front of a large window that looked into another room, but it was covered with blinds. Crystal pulled the blinds up to reveal a current surgery being performed.

"Why are you showing us this?" Draco asked.

She looked at him. "Take a closer look," she said.

Draco exchanged a quick look with Ginny before the three of them stepped closer to the window to get a better view. It wasn't until Ginny saw a few strands of ginger hair that she realized who it was.

"Oh my god, it's Riley!" she cried out turning to Draco.

He just stared at her through the window on that operating table. She didn't even look pale, but more blue and gray, like she was already dead. He couldn't possibly believe that it was his daughter lying there, hooked up to all that tubing and wiring.

"What happened? Is she going to be ok?" he asked, his voice cracking as he watched her continue to be operated on.

Ginny's cries were ringing in his ears, he had never felt so defeated in his life right now. How could things have gotten to this point?

"She was shot, according to the men that picked her up, your children just left her behind. They are smarter than we thought they'd be. They knew we would help her, which we will. We will do everything we can to make sure she survives, but that's only for our benefit. Once she has recovered, she will then undergo an evaluation and the tests and experiments will start." Crystal explained.

"Riley doesn't have powers," Draco growled out through his own emotions.

"We will see... one child down... eight more to go." Crystal said with a small grin.

"How could you do this? Eve told me about what your father did... how he experimented on you too. How do you think any of this ok?" Draco sneered.

Crystal tossed the clipboard in her hand down hard on the metal table, making it echo throughout the room. She straightened out her lab coat before she took a step closer to him.

"My father believes that he can create something amazing and I believe him... I have to. He experimented on my mother until one day it killed her. He wanted to combine every magical power into one person and he attempted it on my mother... and it killed her. He told me my mother would want us to continue our experiments and that she was happy to give her life for something that could be bigger than any of us ever imagined. So when you ask how am able to do this to you? How am I able to help my father carry out his plan? It's because my mother died for something she believed in and I want to help see it through." she finished, the smallest of tears threatened to fall from her eye before she quickly wiped it away.

"Do you hear yourself? You think your mother would want you tearing people's lives apart? I think your father just told you what he had to so that you could just be another pawn in his plan for power." Harry spat.

"What does Adwell plan to do once he successfully combines everything into one person?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, but I trust him and I'm sure it's for something that will benefit everyone," she said confidently.

"Can I see her?" Ginny suddenly asked through her sobs, ignoring the entire conversation as she stared at Riley the entire time. "Can I let her know I'm here?"

Crystal walked over to the blinds, her eyes locked on Ginny's before she pulled them back down. "No.," she said coldly before she motioned for the guards to start taking them back to their rooms.

Once they were all back in their rooms Crystal slowly paced back and forth. "I wanted you to see what your kids are facing out there. They have nowhere to go and they have no way to defend themselves. So if you know anything about where they are or some kind of information on where you think they might be, then now is the time to speak up."

"We have no idea where they are!" Ginny hollered, anger rising in her voice. "And even if we did, we rather have them run and fight than to be another failed experiment. You've been brainwashed with this idea that you are doing good in the world. This isn't good, Jack Adwell is a power hungry psychopath who will gladly put his entire families' lives at stake just to get the smallest of breakthroughs. Even with Noah's death, he rather have us as more victims to experiment on than seek justice for his own son." Ginny hissed.

Crystal just laughed at her words. "Noah isn't dead... he's here, probably another one of Daddy's experiments by now."

"What!" They all seemed to have said at the same time.

"Noah is alive? And your father tried to have our sons rot in Azkaban for murder?" Harry roared with anger.

"So technically we should be free to go since we traded ourselves for our son's freedom, but Noah is alive," Draco stated although he knew full well that wasn't going to happen.

"Yes, technically that is how it would be, but we all know this was just a setup to get you all here," she said, pouting her lips out to mock their helpless situation.

"Does Minister Beckett know everything going on down here in Adwell Labs?" Harry asked.

"He has some idea, but not everything and he will remain oblivious to it. He is all about helping the Ministry and making it stronger and more powerful, so as long as we keep making him believe that's the plan he will continue to support our decisions and experiments. Now... Mr. Malfoy... looks like you are up for some testing this evening." she said with a smile.

"Lucky me." he drawled.

* * *

She walked into the little convenience store and paced up and down the aisles for a few moments. There was nobody else inside, maybe one other person just cashing out. Once the customer had left, she could feel the clerk's eyes on her, most likely because she was a dirty mess.

He walked out from behind the counter. "You have money in those torn up pants you're wearing?" he asked.

Harper looked up at him. "Of course I do. Are you judging my financial situation based off of my current attire? I'm a kid, kid's get dirty from playing outside you know." she snapped.

He eyed her once more before he walked back around the counter and kept a close eye on her.

Harper cursed under her breath before she walked back up to the counter. "You have a bathroom in this dump?" she asked.

His face grew angry at her comment before he went to hand her the key and then stopped. "Let me see your hands," he demanded.

Harper rolled her eyes before she held her hands out to see she didn't have anything. She saw him stare at her with a raised eyebrow before she went further and turned out her pockets.

"There... satisfied? Now can I piss before I give you something to clean up?" she snapped.

"You lack manners," he stated coldly.

She swiped the key from him before he could change his mind. "Yeah, I know, you should meet my father." she said with a smirk as she headed out of the door.

He just glared at her. "Out back, behind the building... bring my key back!" he shouted to her as she continued walking.

She made her way towards the bathroom and stopped when she neared the others.

"Well?" Scorpius asked.

"Forget it, he's all over me... I can't snatch shit," she said.

"Language." Ember scolded her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

They all fell silent at the sound of Ava crying from hunger.

"How about we dine and dash?" Jake suggested.

"Yeah, the only issue being that our faces are all over the place. Being out in the public for that long is too risky." Scorpius said. "Well, I guess since we're wanted people we might as make it worth our while," he said as he walked towards the entrance of the store. "Time for plan B."

"There's a plan B?" Jake asked Ember.

The rest of them exchanged a quick look before they quickly followed him. Scorpius whipped the door open and strode right up to the counter making the man jump in surprise.

"Grab what you need, not what you want," he told others as they piled into the store, his eyes on the man behind the counter.

The man quickly went to move, but Scorpius froze the countertop before he could reach for the panic button. He watched the man's eyes dart to the phone and Scorpius covered that in ice also before he made his way behind the counter. The man held his hands up to show he surrendered.

"Please don't kill me," he begged.

Scorpius froze his feet to the floor so he couldn't move. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you... you'd be dead already. Ah, what's this?" Scorpius asked as he pulled a shotgun out from under the counter. "James, the cameras."

James quickly lifted his hand and soon each camera shorted out and a few lights popped.

"I said the cameras not the damn lights." Scorpius snapped before he iced over the gun in his hand and threw it aside.

"We're really sorry about this," Ember said as she grabbed a few bags from over the counter.

After they grabbed what they needed, they all piled out of the shop.

"And you were worried about me stealing," Harper said to the man behind the counter. "Oh, here's your key," she said with a smirk before she left the shop.

Scorpius walked back around the counter and looked at the man, he felt bad for robbing him. "Here, take this," he said as he unclasped his watch. "Sell it, it's enough to pay for what we took, any damages... it's even enough for a new life if you really want," he said as he placed it down on the counter. "Sorry about this," he said before he left the shop.

* * *

"Hey Gin?"

Ginny was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Draco's voice.

"Can I show you something?" he asked her.

She furrowed her eyebrows at his question. "Of course," she said as she walked over to him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonogram Eve gave him. He pressed it up against the glass for her to see. "Eve gave this to me... she said you're about a month along."

Her eyes went wide at the sight of the picture he held and the news he shared with her. She brought her fingers up to where the picture was and traced the edge of it.

"This is... this is our baby?" she asked as if she didn't believe it.

"Yep." he smiled at her.

Finally, a smile spread across her face, her eyes traveled over to Harry who gave her a small smirk. She wasn't sure if she could believe that something so wonderful was growing inside of her right now in the middle of all this chaos. Sure she had been pregnant many times, but it was always equally amazing whenever she knew something so precious as a life to be growing within her.

The sound of the door to Draco's room unlocking made them both look over.

"Mr. Malfoy, I assume you're ready for what we have planned for you this evening?" she asked.

Draco glanced over at Ginny before he quickly pocketed the sonogram and walked to the door where Crystal held it open for him with a guard waiting to escort him. She then unlocked Ginny's room and another guard came over to escort her.

"You get to be a part of this one my dear." Crystal said to Ginny with a wide smile.

She waved her wand and the device around Draco's neck unlocked as she walked over and took it off of him.

"You were due for the next dose in another minute or so, so you have about five minutes before your powers kick in again. With that being said... shall we?"

She led the way over to the door before she stopped and looked at Harry. "Don't worry Mr. Potter, your time will come and I can promise you it will be quite... shocking." she with some amusement before she turned and left the room.

They walked down the many secured hallways until they got into an elevator. The silence was deafening.

"How is Riley?" Ginny softly asked; the desperation of knowing if her daughter was ok was very present in her tone.

Crystal looked at her for a moment before she turned back to the elevator doors that opened. "Her surgery went well, she has not woken up yet. We are keeping her as comfortable as possible and are continuing to manage her pain."

Ginny let out this long emotional breath she seemed to have been holding in this whole time once she heard Riley was ok. She looked up at Draco, she could tell how relieved he was to hear the news. Her bound hands reached over to his and she wrapped one of her fingers around one of his. It had been so long since she last felt his touch and even though it was the tiniest bit of contact it was still comforting.

"Before you get any ideas, Mr. Malfoy, this entire floor is charmed to disable any kind of magical powers. Wand magic can still work, but it is limited." she stopped outside of a room. "But this room... this is the only room on the floor where you can use your powers. Let's explore those powers of yours a bit shall we?"

They followed her into this big empty room, a few feet ahead of them the floor stopped and there was a pool of water. Crystal freed both of their hands before the one guard dragged Ginny over to the water and threw her into it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Draco yelled as he made a move to get to Ginny, but stopped when Crystal held her wand up.

"Conjuring your powers has never been a problem, in fact, you're a lot more powerful than you think you are. Today, we are going to see what else you can do," she said as she walked into a small room connected to the one Draco and Ginny were in.

There was a large window that she could observe them through. Before Crystal closed the door, she held her wand up again and the water that Ginny was trying to keep her head afloat in started icing over.

"Ginny!" Draco called to her as he quickly ran to get to her.

"Mr. Malfoy, I want you to save her... absorb the ice, unfreeze the water," she said.

"I can't! I can only form it!" he yelled out.

Ginny started to shiver until she was finally forced to let the water swallow her as the ice tried to slice through her. She could see the layer of ice forming above her as she pounded as hard she could to try and break through.

Draco quickly ran across the ice-covered water to find that mass of red hair he knew to be Ginny. He frantically dug at the few pieces of frost that started forming.

"You have the ability to absorb ice you just haven't done it yet. You have to figure out how to tap into that part of your mind to save your wife." Crystal demanded.

Draco felt his powers surface, but the only thing he was doing was making more ice form. He could see Ginny struggling to hold her breath under the water, her amber eyes piercing into his through the ice, they were filled with fear. He stopped all movement altogether as he tried to concentrate on the ice, his heart was racing as time was ticking.

"I CAN'T DO IT! NOW HELP HER!" he screamed out in anger.

"You can!" Crystal insisted.

Draco closed his eyes. "Come on, come on," he whispered to himself, but nothing happened.

He crawled over to where Ginny tried kicking through the ice, any air she had left was completely gone as she started to panic beneath the surface.

Draco growled out in frustration as he noticed suddenly the ice was becoming thinner and just as he thought he figured it out, it started to ice over again.

"What? No, no, no," he said as he suddenly brought his fist down to try and break through the icy surface.

He could feel the bones in his hand and wrist throb, but he didn't feel any pain, all he felt was fear that he was going to lose Ginny. With that thought in his head, he quickly brought his fist down again and kept hitting the ice. He felt the ice cut his hand, he saw the blood spread across the cracking surface as he kept punching to get through. His fist finally iced over and he brought it down with such force that he finally felt it hit the water and he reached in and grabbed her. He dragged her out, her gasps for air ripped through him as he knew her to be alive.

He pulled her all the way until they were off the ice and onto the floor again.

"Ginny, are you ok? Look at me," he said, grabbing her face in his hands and looking her over.

She was still coughing up water and gasping for air, but nodded to show she was ok. He grabbed her to him tightly, so tight he thought he might break her in half. He just stared at her; he wanted to scream out in pain as the blood ran down his cut-up knuckles and probably broken hand and wrist, but he didn't want to pass up this moment right here with her.

He heard Crystal making her way into the room back over to him, his neck device back in place before he could even think of trying to use his powers on her. He watched Ginny's trembling body before him, her eyes locking with his.

"You sure you're ok?" he asked her again.

"Yes." she breathed out before she felt him grab her face to his.

She felt him kiss her, his icy touch against her skin was the most incredible thing she had felt in a while. It reminded her of their life back at the Manor, before all this happened. His touch took her back eighteen years when he first kissed her in his bedroom; to the day she had to share a compartment with him on the train to Hogwarts. She knew how ridiculous it was that right here in the middle of her near death experience as he held her for the few seconds that Crystal allowed, that she was able to feel all of this. That the quick kiss he was able to give her took her to a completely different place... a place of bliss... a place far from all the pain her and her family had suffered through these past few weeks.

The feeling of the injection in her neck from the device she wore brought her back to reality. She felt the guard grab her roughly by the arm and drag her along as Crystal stayed behind with Draco.

"You failed," she said.

"I saved her," Draco stated with a sneer.

"Barely, and not how I intended. You have control of your powers, but when you feel desperate you get sloppy. You were forming more ice faster than you could absorb it... you need to scale it back."

"Well, maybe if my wife wasn't about to fuckin drown-"

"That's just more excuses. If anything, you should've shined at this moment, you should have adapted and you didn't."

"Why the fuck does it matter?" he snapped. "I'm not your damn puppet so stop sacrificing my family for your stupid tests."

"See, that's where you're wrong... you are our puppet and we will continue to do and use whoever and whatever we want until we get the test results we are waiting for."

She had the other guard grab him and drag him towards the door.

"Also, don't forget Mr. Malfoy... we have your daughter now too. I'd hate to have to hurt her, but I also wouldn't lose any sleep over it," she said, her eyes locking with the deadly glare he gave her.

* * *

"Alright, so here is your official birthday cake," Scorpius said with a smug look on his face as he stood back to reveal a small pyramid of chocolate cupcakes he set up.

They all stood back and looked at it before Ellie started laughing. "That's pathetic."

Ember shook her head before she took the top cupcake off and place a tiny twig in it and handed it to Aurora. She waved her hand over it to ignite a tiny flame at the top.

"Make a wish little Sis," she said with a smile.

Aurora looked around at everyone staring at her, the small fire that Ember helped set up danced across their faces. She thought of one of the many Sunday dinners at her grandparents, how everyone was together and happy. She missed her parents... her grandfather... Riley. She looked at the tiny flame and gently blew it out as she wished to relive those days once more.

Everyone clapped and pulled cupcakes from the now unbalanced pyramid before they all fell to the ground. She let out a small laugh before she got up and walked over to a nearby tree and fell into a pool of her own thoughts.

"Why do you look so down? Sorry, was this not the birthday you wanted?" James lightly teased her before he took a seat beside her.

She gave a silent giggle. "Not exactly," she said with a smile as she picked at the frosting on her cupcake. "Do you think it's after midnight yet?"

He looked up at the moon through the trees that surrounded them. "Yeah, I think just about." When he looked back at her she was staring at him. "What?"

She didn't say anything, instead, she just leaned over and gently kissed him before she pulled her lips back a few inches and let her eyes travel up to his. "Happy Birthday James."

He smiled at her. "Happy Birthday Aurora."

His hand gently stroked her cheek before he pulled her lips to his again.

 **A/N: OK, so there you go. What did you think? We finally got some James and Aurora action again at the end. What do you think about Eve and Crystal? Do you guys agree with Ember's decision on leaving Riley? Reviews are as always much appreciated! Love you guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So sorry I took so long to update. I struggled a great deal with this chapter, especially when it comes to writing action scenes, I've never been good at it, lol.**

 **Please be sure to check out my Facebook page for story updates and chapter previews. The link is located on my profile page.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!**

Her legs buckled beneath her as she ran; her calves throbbing and spasming as she pushed through the pain and kept barreling through the thick woods. She jumped over tree trunks and large rocks that blocked her path as quickly as she could to put as much distance between her and the group of people on her heels.

A spell flew past her and came so close to hitting her that it made her spin around and fall to the ground. She felt Jake pull her roughly up as they continued running. The only thing Ember kept her eyes on was Scorpius' tight grip on Ava as he ran ahead of them. She turned to make sure James had Bella's little hand firmly grasped as he too dragged her as quickly as he could through the thick leaves and crowded tree branches. She watched Harper running ahead of her as she too, even struggled to maintain a quick pace as she grew tired.

She was exhausted, it had been almost two days since they were able to rest, ever since, they had been running and were only able to lose them for half hours at a time. They would only take a few minutes to rest and catch their breath before they kept moving. Whether it was walking just to stay on the move or a full-on chase to get away from Adwell's men.

"I can't run anymore, I just can't!" Ellie cried out as she collapsed to her knees on the ground.

Jake ran back and scooped her up like a rag doll and kept running. Adrenaline ran through them all as they were determined to lose the people chasing them. Ava was crying the entire time as she too grew restless from all the running Scorpius was doing with her.

"Ember, has yours worn off yet?" Scorpius yelled back to her as they kept running.

"No!" she yelled out as she desperately tried to fight off the effects of the disabling charm they hit her and Scorpius with.

Scorpius suddenly skidded to a halt as a bit of a steep drop came up. He gripped Ava to him with one hand and used the other to steady himself as he slowly started to descend. It was a spell that grazed his hand against the tree he was gripping as leverage that made him let go and start tumbling to the bottom. His hands tightly gripped Ava's head and limbs to his body as he desperately tried to shelter her as he fell.

He hardly had a chance to call out a warning to the others before he saw Ember completely miss the drop and fell to the bottom with everyone else behind her. He heard a loud growl of pain erupt from Ember as she hit the ground and grabbed her shoulder.

Before he went over to help her, he was trying to calm Ava down as she was wailing from the fall they all just endured. Her face had a cut on it and she was a little bruised up, but he knew she would be ok.

"Are you guys ok?" he asked, walking over to help Ember stand.

"It's my shoulder." Ember hissed out in pain, tears in her eyes.

Jake ran over to help her up as Scorpius went back to clutching Ava to his body as she continued to scream.

"We need to keep moving," Jake said softly to her.

She nodded.

"Aurora, what about you? Are you ok?" Scorpius asked her.

James was helping her stand and she gave a small limp. "I'm fine, I think I just twisted my ankle. I can push through it," she reassured him.

Scorpius gave a quick nod before he looked down at Ava and placed a comforting kiss on her head before he started running again. They ran for another twenty minutes before half of them started slowing down, their running turning into walking. Harper stopped altogether as she rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"I'm done, I can't anymore, just have them take me too," she said as she fell to the ground in a bed of leaves.

"That's not an option," Scorpius said firmly as he walked over and pulled her up.

"Why not? It was for Riley." she snapped.

"That was different!" Ember shouted, her guilt surfacing at the mention of Riley's name. "Now let's keep moving," she said, her voice cracking with whimpers of pain from her shoulder.

Scorpius gave a quick look around to see if anyone had caught up to them in the distance. When he didn't see anyone he handed Ava over to Ellie and made his way over to Ember.

"Let me see it," he said to her.

She just stared at him, she just wanted to keep moving and thought about telling him to just forget it, but the pain was too much. She gave a defeated sigh before she pulled her long fiery strands back so he could look at her injury.

"Yeah, that's dislocated," he said confidently.

"So you're a doctor now?" Ember snapped at his cockiness.

He smirked at her. "No, but I'm smart and most of the information I seem to contain is useless, boring things, however, one of them is knowing how to pop this sucker back into place," he said, looking at her.

"You've done this before?"

"No, but I've read about how to do it and I've seen Raven do it at the hospital once. How hard could it be?"

"So that's knowing how to do it?" She snapped again.

"Ok, fine, I'll leave it." he shrugged, getting ready to walk away. "Alright guys, let's keep mov-"

"Fine!" Ember yelled out.

Scorpius turned back to her with a smug look on his face.

"Why the hell do you look a little too excited about this?" Ember asked him.

"What? I'm not, I just thoroughly enjoy putting my knowledge to the test," he said before he gently touched her shoulder. "Ok, let's try this way first," he mumbled to himself as he took her arm. "Just let me know as soon as it starts hurting while I'm doing it."

Ember rolled her eyes before she nodded and watched him bend her arm slightly and then turn it to the side. She heard him mumble something to himself about a ninety-degree angle.

"Just fuckin pop in back in already!" she yelled as she grew impatient from the pain.

"Relax, I can cause more problems doing it this way if it's not done correctly," he said ignoring her outburst.

"Are you sure that's how you do that?" Jake asked.

"Hey Jake, do me a favor and shut up." Scorpius snapped.

He started to move her arm up over her head when she let out a loud gasp of pain.

"Stop, it hurts too much!" she growled out, tears falling from her eyes.

"I don't want to say I told you so... but..." Jake trailed off.

"That is one of the many correct ways of doing it. It's just not working." he said through clenched teeth.

"No way I've seen." Jake mumbled.

"Then why don't you give it a go." Scorpius said, gesturing for him to take over.

"No, please don't!" Ember yelled out before she turned to look at Jake. "I'm sorry, but if there's one thing I trust most in this world, it's my brother's damn brain... so to put it bluntly... please don't touch me." she said as she winced once more.

He held his hands up to show he wouldn't attempt anything before he watched Scorpius give him a smug smirk.

"Ok, lay down on the ground." Scorpius said. "I guess we'll do it in a way that our dear Jake here is more familiar with."

"What? On the ground?" Ember asked.

"Just shut up and lay down," he ordered.

Jake helped her lower herself onto the ground and Scorpius grabbed her wrist and arm as he took a seat beside her.

"This is a lot harder to do on the ground," he said as he placed his foot against her torso.

"What are you doing?"

"I need traction, now would you just shut up and trust me?" he snapped.

She gave him an apologetic look before she looked over to Jake beside her who she just now realized was holding her hand.

Scorpius started pulling slowly but firmly on her arm, his foot pushing her body away from him as he continued to pull.

Ember closed her eyes tightly in pain and discomfort.

"How will I know when it's-" she let out a painful gasp and then heard a small clunk. "It's in!" she cried out as she felt a great deal of the pain go away.

"Fuck yeah! I wish Raven could have seen this," he said smugly as he looked over at Ember. "Better?"

She gave a thankful nod as Scorpius continued to be impressed by his new accomplishment.

Jake helped her sit up.

"Now for a makeshift sling," Scorpius said, looking around for something until his eyes fell on Jake. "Your overshirt, hand it over," he ordered.

Jake didn't think twice about it before he pulled his button-down shirt off and was left in just a tank top. Ember couldn't believe she was taking in his toned arms and chest at this exact moment. In the middle of everything, how is it that she was thinking back to their night in the bathroom. She finally snapped her eyes back to her brother when he started putting her arm in a sling.

She felt his eyes on her and didn't even look up. "Shut up," she mumbled to him.

"What? I didn't say anything." Scorpius said with a small laugh.

"I hate you," she said through clenched teeth as he finished making her sling and then helped her stand up.

"No you don't, you hate yourself for thinking... well, whatever it was you were thinking right there." he smiled at her.

"Let's keep moving," she said, ignoring his comment.

* * *

Ginny stretched her neck up from the spot on the floor she was sitting in to get another look at Harry to see if he was still asleep. She had been anxiously shaking her leg and tapping her hands as she kept making Draco walk over to see if he was breathing.

"Is he-"

"Yes, he's breathing, now please stop shaking so much." Draco snapped.

"Sorry, he's been out for almost two days... what the hell did they do to him?" she said to herself as she ran her hands through her hair.

She looked at the cast on Draco's hand and her stomach sank at the sight of it. He had a few broken bones and fingers along with a fractured wrist from the day he saved her.

"How's your hand?" she asked him.

He held it up and examined the cast on his wrist. "Well, the bruising has turned from a blue and purple to more of a black and purple now," he said with a smirk.

She just shook her head. "I'm sorry, thanks for saving me though," she said with a small smile.

He just stared at her. "You know I almost didn't... couldn't. I was so scared that I was going to lose you," he said softly as memories from the other day filled his head.

She locked eyes with him before they both turned towards the sound of someone entering the room. Draco was surprised to see it was Eve, he hadn't seen her since that one day. His eyes welled with tears when he saw Riley was with her.

"Mum! Dad!" she cried as she ran over to the glass wall separating them.

"Riley, Baby, are you ok?" Ginny asked her, her hands covering the spot on the glass wall where Riley's were.

Eve unlocked Ginny's room to let Riley in. Riley was hesitant at first, not sure if it was a trick or if she was really allowing her to hug her mother. After a few moments, she didn't care and ran into her mother's arms.

As soon as Riley was within reach, Ginny grabbed her roughly and pulled her into a tight hug as she sobbed uncontrollably... they both did. She took in her arm that was in a sling and the bandage she still wore from her surgery and she cried even harder.

"I'm so happy you're ok." Ginny cried.

Eve walked over to one of the computers and pressed something that made the walls dividing the rooms slide away so that Draco could get to Ginny and Riley. It took him a second to realize he could actually walk over and touch Ginny, to have contact with her. After confirming that he wasn't going to walk into a glass wall, he ran forward and scooped them both up in his arms.

The feeling of holding them both gave Draco so much strength and hope. He felt like he already had lost everything, even though he knew the kids were still alive, he always feared for how much longer.

Riley pulled back from them both and stared at her mum. "Mum... Grandpa is dead." Riley cried to her as fresh tears fell down her face.

Ginny's heart broke as she looked at her. "I know baby, it's ok... I know," she said as she grabbed her back into a hug.

Ginny's eyes traveled to Draco's, her fingers laced with his and squeezed his hand tightly. She felt Riley pull back a bit as she was in some discomfort.

"Are you in pain?" Draco asked her.

She nodded through her tears.

"She is due for some pain medication," Eve said. "I will take care of her when I take her back to her room."

"Take her back?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, she can't stay in here with you. She shouldn't even be in here now." Eve stated; her tone firm.

Ginny wanted to argue, but she could tell by the look Eve gave her that there was no negotiating on the subject.

"Riley, listen... do you know where you guys were heading before you got hurt?" Draco asked her.

She nodded.

"Where?"

She was silent and then turned around to look at Eve, who took a few steps back to give them some privacy.

"Mr. Zabini gave them an address to some house that belonged to his family or something. He said he wasn't sure if it was still standing, but we could try to lay low there until we figured out where to go... what to do," she said in a small voice.

Ginny exchanged a curious a look with Draco before she turned back to Riley. "Did Blaise say anything else?"

"No, just that he would try to help."

"He and Raven are missing," Draco said to himself. "So are Hermione and Ron. Riley do you have any idea where they are?"

She shook her head. "Aunt Hermione told us to stay at the Manor and that she was taking us someplace to hide, but she never came and then we were attacked," she explained, her voice cracking as she thought about the past few days and what she had been through.

Ginny grabbed her face in her hands. "Riley, is anyone else hurt?"

"I don't know... after I got hurt... "she trailed off as she started crying again. "Scorpius and Ember... th-they were trying to save me... keep me alive. I remember looking at Ember and I could tell she wasn't sure if I would live." she cried harder. "Then they left me, Mum... they just left me behind."

Ginny tried so hard to hold herself together, the things their children were being faced with was everything she and Draco never wanted them to be exposed to.

"Oh Sweetie, they were trying to get you help... they didn't have a choice. I promise you that they would never have left you if they didn't think you would get help." Ginny reassured her. "You know that right?"

Riley looked at her and then to her father, who nodded in agreement before she also nodded.

"Come on, you have to go back to your room," Eve said suddenly as she saw Crystal on one of the cameras. "My sister and father are on their way there."

Ginny and Draco hugged her tightly once more before Ginny showered her with a few kisses on her cheek. "I love you, baby, everything is going to be ok," she reassured her as she watched Riley follow Eve out of the room.

Once she was gone, Ginny turned to Draco, her fingers still laced with his as she looked down at their hands entwined. She felt his hand caress her cheek as her eyes traveled back up to his. She reached up and grabbed his face to hers, the way he kissed her made her want to melt into a puddle at his feet. How he kissed her firmly but still somehow made it feel so soft was a mystery to her, but it swept her away every time. The taste of his lips almost made her want to ignore the fact that they were locked up in this glass box and rip his clothes off right here.

They both stopped kissing each other and just took in the feel of their bodies together. Ginny wanted to remember this feeling forever of being held by him. She felt him slide a hand under her shirt and rest it against her stomach before he pulled back a bit and looked at her.

"I love you Ginny, so fuckin much it's actually ridiculous."

She let out a small giggle. "No, me loving you back just as much is ridiculous," she said with a small smirk.

Ginny's eyes traveled over to Harry, who looked like he might be waking up. She took advantage of the rooms not being divided and walked over to his bed and took a seat. She went to take his hand when she stopped suddenly.

"Whoa, Draco, look at this," she said gesturing him over.

He walked over and looked at her; her hair was starting to frizz and he too felt the hairs on his arms start to stand up just from being next to Harry. Ginny went to go take his hand in hers.

"No, don't touch him," Draco told her.

She retracted her hand and leaned in a little closer to him. "Harry?"

She watched him slowly open his eyes to look at her, but his pupils were this glowing gold. She could literally see and feel the electricity that was running through him. He barely had his eyes opened all the way before they fell closed again.

"No, Harry, wake up," Ginny said and went to shake him when she was shocked.

She jumped up off the bed and held her hand to her chest before she looked at the small burn down the side of her hand.

"I told you not to touch him," Draco said, grabbing her wrist and looking at it.

"I'm sorry, it was just instinct. What do you think is wrong with him?" she asked as she winced at the pain.

"I have no damn clue, it has to be whatever they did to him the other day."

"But our devices... they are suppose to disable our powers, why isn't it working on him?"

"What the hell is going on?" came Crystal's voice as she walked into the room. "Get back in your rooms... now!" she yelled.

They both walked back over to their rooms before Crystal put the walls back in place. She turned to her father who was behind her along with Eve. "I'm not sure what happened, must've been a glitch or something," she explained.

"This is unacceptable, I trust you both to keep our test subjects separated at all times, do you have any idea how important that is?" Mr. Adwell said to the both of them, his eyes falling on Eve.

She nodded. "Of course."

"Crystal, play the cameras back," he ordered.

"I'm sure it was just a glitch of some-"

"PLAY IT BACK!" Adwell yelled, making them all jump.

Crystal locked eyes with Eve, already knowing it was her who did it. She rewound the security camera to reveal everything Eve had done, her heart sinking a bit.

Mr. Adwell just laughed at the footage before he turned to look at Eve and then to Draco and Ginny. "Must have been nice to see your daughter, I assume?"

They both nodded.

"You must think that perhaps you have someone here in this lab that might help you?"

They didn't say anything, the look of anger on Adwell's face made them afraid to say anything for the sake of everyone. He walked over to Eve and looked at her, she kept her face down, her long dark brown ponytail hung over her shoulder.

"I'm so disappointed in you," he whispered to her.

She went to lift her face to look at him and as she did, she felt the back of his hand hit her with such force she fell to the floor. Crystal went to take a step forward to help her but stayed put as she turned away from the scene before her. She looked over to see Draco staring at her, he could tell she was bothered by her father's actions towards her sister.

"Now get up and meet me upstairs," he ordered before he left the room.

Eve pulled herself up off the floor and wiped the blood from her chin that was dripping from her mouth. Draco and Ginny just gave her a sad look before she took off out of the room with tears in her eyes.

Crystal went to follow her when the sound her name made her stop and turn back to Draco and Ginny.

"How can you be ok with that?" Draco asked her.

"I'm not, but she knows better. I won't be involved in her plans to play nice," she said as she continued walking away.

"You keep telling us that you work for your father, but really all you are is prisoners just like us."

She turned back to him. "A prisoner? I'm not the one locked up without any way out." she snapped.

"Are you so sure about that?"

She just stared at him, his words hitting her hard before she turned and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Scorpius wrapped the fabric around the chunk of ice he held in his hand and then grabbed another piece for another large piece of ice he had formed. He walked over to Jake and handed him the makeshift ice pack.

"For your broken finger," he said to Jake. "And for your shoulder," he said to Ember, handing her the other ice pack.

"What about Aurora's ankle?" Ember said as she laid the cold compress against her shoulder.

Scorpius glanced over to Aurora. "I think she'll be fine," he said with a smirk.

They all took a seat on the ground to rest a few minutes before they had to get up and take off running again. There was the sound of thunder in the distance as it started to lightly rain.

"I think Ava is running a fever," James said she he looked at the sleeping baby over his shoulder, her cheeks flushed.

Scorpius walked over and felt her. "Yep, definitely a fever... unless she's already developing fire powers." he lightly joked.

" ." Ember said sarcastically before she made her way over and felt Ava herself. "This is the last thing we need right now." she sighed in frustration. "Where the hell is that map?" she snapped.

Jake pulled it out from his pocket and unfolded it for her to look at. "We're still pretty far from the house Blaise told us about. If there even is a house still standing," he said softly.

She locked eyes with him for a moment, their intimate encounter together still seemed to go unnoticed. There was just no time for them to discuss anything about their relationship or to even have one in the slightest. All presence of an actual relationship between them was gone right now.

"Well, we have nowhere else to go and since the last place you suggested almost got us all killed and Riley practically left for dead, I rather take my chances on the place Blaise told us about." She snapped angrily before she stormed off ahead.

Jake felt like he was punched in the stomach at Ember's comment. He already felt an extreme amount of guilt over what happened to Riley, but hearing those words from Ember killed him inside.

"She didn't mean that," Scorpius said as he made his way over to Jake.

"I don't blame her if she does... it's true, I never should have brought you guys there." he sighed as he pulled the ice pack back off of his hand and looked at his bruised finger.

"There's a lot of things we never should have done, but we're desperate. Desperate to stay alive... to stay out of the Ministry's grasp... we are bound to make mistakes and rash decisions." Scorpius stated before he walked back over to James and took Ava from him, who was starting to wake up.

Further ahead, Ember was still storming in any direction the adrenaline in her took her until she finally stopped when she realized she should go back. She turned back and could still see the group of them in the distance before she leaned against a nearby tree and slid down it. She was overwhelmed right now with everything going on, she felt so much pressure on herself. Every hour she had to try and keep herself from falling apart, today Scorpius seemed to be the one that was holding himself together better than she was. She was grateful for the connection between the two of them and that he knew they both couldn't fall apart at the same time for the sake of the others.

She heard a branch suddenly snap and jumped to her feet. She looked around to see if she saw anyone, but at first glance there was nobody. She quickly turned to head back to the group when the sound of someone's voice stopped her.

"Don't run... If you do, I will kill you without another thought." the man said.

She froze before she slowly turned to see a man standing there, a wand in one hand and his fingers wrapped around what appeared to be a knife attached to his belt. He looked at her injured shoulder and the bullet graze on her leg.

"You must be exhausted, all of you, I think it's time you finally give up," he suggested.

"Yeah, I bet you do." she turned to look at her brother and the others again.

"Don't even think about it," he warned her.

She just glared at him for a moment before she went to take off running. "SCORPIUS! RUN!" she screamed as loud as her voice would allow her.

She barely took a step before she felt a binding charm hit her and she fell to the ground, the man already on top, straddling her to hold her still in case she broke free of the bind. She screamed again before she felt him hit her hard, the taste of blood filling her mouth.

* * *

"SCORPIUS, RUN!"

The sound of Ember's voice made them all jump up from their spot and start running, but Scorpius couldn't run. He watched Ember go down and he ran towards her instead as he quickly handed Ava to Ellie.

He could feel the ice already running through his veins as he neared her. The man saw Scorpius running at him and he pulled his knife out and held it to Ember's throat, making Scorpius stop in his tracks.

"Don't test me, Boy... I won't hesitate," he said.

The man got up and pulled Ember to her feet as she spit out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes locking with Scorpius'. He watched her eyes grow wide when she looked over his shoulder and saw the others were also caught with about a dozen men surrounding them.

"We had no chance, they were everywhere," James said as one of the men forced him to his knees.

"All of you, on your knees and hands behind your head. Any of you try anything stupid... one little snowflake or the slightest flicker of a flame and I will kill one of you." One of the men said.

Ember shook her head as she got to her knees and looked at her brother, this was it... they had failed. They both knew they weren't getting out this... not this time. The man behind Ember paced in front of them and started counting.

"This looks like all of them," he said as his eyes fell on Ellie trying to calm Ava down. "Aw, what's the matter little one?" he said as he walked over and went to take her from Ellie's arms, but she pulled her closer to her.

"Hand her over," he demanded.

Ellie just glared at him. "No," she said firmly.

"I said, hand her over now!" he shouted as he reached forward and roughly tried to grab her from Ellie's grasp.

She felt her baby sister's body slipping through her grasp as another man pulled her hands back as the man finally had a hold of Ava.

"No, Ava!" Ellie screamed before she felt a hard slap hit her face.

Scorpius and each one of them went to jump up from their spot, but when one of the men pointed a wand at James they all stopped.

"Settle down, this is it... you're done, this is the end of your little runaway game. You lost," he said. "Now some cooperation is going to be needed so I can attempt to deliver you all unharmed... or alive." his eyes fell on James again. "But just to give a preview of what to expect if anyone of you decides to pull any of your nifty magic tricks..." he gestured to the man who had his wand pointed at James.

"Crucio." the man said as he gripped his wand and held it straight at James.

James yelled out in pain as he was hunched over, his hands digging into the damp earth for some sort leverage to deal with the pain running through him. The man said the curse again, letting it intensify, making James' yells turn into screams.

Aurora could feel the hair on her body stand up as she gave a horrified side glance at James' squirming body. She could taste metallic in her mouth as a tingling sensation danced across her skin. Bella was crying and screaming for James as Harper held her back from running over to him. Finally, the curse was lifted and she could feel James' powers die down a bit beside her.

The man gave an evil chuckle as he watched the disturbed looks on their faces. "Oh, that's right, you lot aren't familiar with that curse are you?" he said before he looked at Scorpius. "Your father knew that one quite well... all of your parents did." he grinned as he seemed to get lost in a memory. "Ah, that was so long ago... anyway, back to business," he said as he handed Ava over to another man and then walked over to Jake. "Let's lighten the load since you're worthless to us," he said as he pulled out his knife and grabbed a handful of Jake's hair before he pulled his head back and brought the blade up to his throat.

"No! Wait!" Ember yelled, her eyes welling with tears.

The man stopped and looked at her, amusement on his face. "Wait? Now why in the world would I do that?" he said as he moved the knife up to his face and slid it across Jake's cheek making him release a painful hiss as it pierced his skin.

The man walked over to Ember and squatted down in front of her. He used the tip of his knife to lift her face to look at him.

"Ember, right?" he asked her softly.

She looked up at him before she gave a stiff nod, her lips trembling.

He just looked her over for a moment and then turned to glance at Scorpius and James before his eyes fell on Ember once more. "It's amazing... how much you look like them, it's like staring into the past," he said more to himself than to them.

He stood up and grabbed Ember by the arm and dragged her over to the rest of them as he threw her to the ground between Scorpius and Jake. He squatted once more in front them, the bloody blade still in his hand.

"Listen to me Sweetheart," he softly said to Ember as he waited for her to meet his gaze before he continued. "We're going to kill half of you... the orders were to bring you back alive if possible and we're going to pretend that wasn't the case," he said with a small grin. "See, I fought beside your grandfather, Lucius... many of us did," he explained as he gestured to a few of the men around them. "So naturally when Jack Adwell needed a few men that were quite hungry for vengeance, we were the right people. So he will get half and we will kill the rest of you because it's only fair that we get some kind of revenge."

Ember's body was shaking, she was scared, but once again she tried hard to hide it. She couldn't help the few tears that started to seep out onto her face; she honestly wanted to break down into a puddle of her own emotions right now. She gave a side glance at Scorpius, her father's famous sneer was present on his face as he glared at the man before them.

She turned to look at Jake, the blood from his cut was dripping down his face. She gave him a sad look.

"You care a great deal about someone whose father was Lucius' right-hand man. The same man who tried to rape your mother." the man stated.

Every one of them turned to look at Jake, Ember looked at him with wide eyes, she could see he was as equally shocked.

"You have no idea who's son this is? The son of a man who tried to kill your mother... all of your parents. His uncle beat and tortured your father within an inch of his life. That is until your father killed him, he literally ripped his throat out." the man explained before he looked at Jake. "And as for your father... Ginny Weasley killed him." he finished as an amused smile crossed his lips. "Bet you didn't think your parents were capable of something so brutal, huh?" he said looking at Ember and Scorpius.

He pulled off the jacket he was wearing and rolled up his sleeve before taking off a glove he had on. Half of his body all the way up to his neck was scarred with brutal burns.

"This is what your mother did to me eighteen years ago," he said before he reached forward and grabbed Ember by the shirt. "So needless to say I haven't gotten over it yet and since you're practically a spitting image of her, killing you will do just fine." he laughed.

"It's Malfoy." Scorpius suddenly said.

"What?" the man asked as he let Ember go.

"You said Ginny Weasley killed Jake's father, but it's Malfoy now." he casually stated.

The man started to laugh before he walked over to Scorpius. "Do you think I'm playing?"

Scorpius' eyes traveled over to James across the way, he could tell something was off with his powers. He had been watching him try to keep them under control since the Cruciatus curse was lifted. Right now he was just trying to buy them some time, hoping that James would let something slip.

"I don't think you're playing, I just think during your trip down memory lane you forgot that-"

He was cut off when he felt the man's fist hit his face, not once, but twice as he fell to the ground.

"Fuck," Scorpius mumbled out as he spit out a mouthful of blood. "Ok, I get it, you don't like being corrected," he choked out before he felt a hard kick to his stomach.

"Stop!" Ember cried out.

A loud clap of thunder and lightning made them all jump, Ava's crying grew louder at the sound. The man's eyes fell on James and he quickly walked over to him, his wand gripped tightly as he pointed it at him.

"What's wrong with you, Boy?" he said. "Crucio!" he yelled again making James scream out in pain.

A tear slid down Aurora's face as she watched the pain James was going through. Again, she could feel every hair on her body stand up, she could almost hear a buzzing in her ears as that metallic taste came back. She expected at any moment a bolt of lightning to hit her, but the spell was lifted again.

"James?" she softly called to him.

He looked at her, his breathing was heavy and his eyes were nothing like his own as they turned to a shining gold. She felt her heart in her throat as she instinctively crawled away from him.

"Get back to your spot!" one of the men yelled as he grabbed her by the hair, making her let out a whimper of pain.

He was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning and sent flying across the woods into a tree. All of them were on their feet at this point as their attention was on James and his uncontrollable powers. They all took their chance to run and started scattering about as the thunder and lightning intensified. Scorpius went straight for the man who had Ava, he turned the ground beneath him to ice before it rose up and tightly wrapped around his legs as he let go of Ava. She picked her little body up from the ground and quickly ran into Scorpius' arms before he took off running with her. He flinched as a stream of electricity hit the tree beside him making it blast to pieces. He looked behind him as James was completely taken over by his own powers and he ran for his life.

"James!" Bella cried as Aurora dragged her along by the wrist.

Not only were they running from James, but they still had Adwell's men attempting to capture them as they also ran for cover. Ember was behind a tree tucked into a ball on the ground as lightning shot down all around her, blowing bits of the ground up at her. She felt her adrenaline kicking in and she jumped up and ran out from behind the tree, the flames within her surfacing as she walked straight at James. She threw a fireball right at him, but he had some sort of an electrical barrier around himself and it flew back at her.

"Ember, stop!" Scorpius yelled.

Aurora ran over to help her up as James neared them, she wanted so badly to try and get through to James, but there was no way that was about to happen.

"Ember, he's not right," she said to her.

They both started running again as the rain was now pouring down, the evening sky being illuminated by the constant lightning that sporadically came down around them. Ember was right behind Aurora as they barreled through the woods away from him. She felt someone grab a handful of her hair and pull her back down to the ground.

"You're all not getting away this time." the man said as he straddled her to hold her down.

Aurora went to run back to help Ember, but James was in her path.

"James... it's me, it's Aurora," she said to him, her bright blue eyes staring at him.

The light from the electricity surrounding him was making them sparkle like the two diamonds he always remembered staring into. She swore for a moment he recognized her until a disabling charm suddenly hit him and then another spell that knocked him out cold as he fell to the ground.

"James!" she cried out as she ran to his side.

She barely had a chance to see if he was alright when she felt a binding charm hit her.

"Take Ava and keep running," Scorpius said to Harper, who was beside him.

She nodded without question and started running. He heard Ember screaming as the man on top of her brought his knife up to her neck. She could feel it piercing her skin as he contemplated whether to bring her in alive or kill her right now. Scorpius kicked him hard in the face as he fell off of her and he reached down to help her up. Before he could reach out his hand, the man ran at him again and they both fell to the ground.

They fought for control over the other for a few moments before Scorpius felt the blade cut him, but the adrenaline in him made him numb to the feeling. He swung his fist and took his chance to run and grab the wand he saw across the way. He had just grabbed it when he was slammed into the tree in front of him. The man punched him hard in the stomach and then threw him hard against the tree once more.

"You're dead, Kid," he growled out as he swiped his blade at Scorpius and missed him by a few inches.

Scorpius went to run at him again when the man kicked him in the chest against the tree again.

"You'll give up if you know what's good for you," he said to him as he punched Scorpius in the face.

Once again Scorpius jumped forward at him, this time the man went down and Scorpius started wailing on him. Chaos was all around them, every time Scorpius had the advantage, another one of Adwell's men came out of nowhere.

Ember had taken shelter behind another tree as spells flew past her, she desperately tried to get over to Scorpius to help him. She brought her hand up to her neck where she felt the blade cut her and ignored the large amount of blood that covered her hand. She watched the rain wash it from her skin before she saw she had an opening to run. She barely made it out from behind the tree before a spell knocked her to the ground. She scrambled to get up, but felt someone grab her from behind into a choke hold. She tried with everything inside her to free herself from the man's grip, but she could tell he was much bigger than she was and a lot stronger. She dug her nails into his arm as hard as she could, she tried to move her head enough to headbutt him but nothing was working. She felt her body start to panic and fear filled her as she knew death would soon reach her.

She felt the man stop all of a sudden and she quickly crawled away from him. She saw spells flying all over the place and soon realized someone else was fighting Adwell's men. She couldn't tell who it was, just that there was more than one person and they were wearing what looked like a hooded cloak. She took this opportunity to crawl over to Scorpius and look him over, he had his hand on his side where he was bleeding pretty badly.

"Are you ok?" they asked each other at the same time.

They both watched the scene unfold around them, whoever was helping them was no stranger to magic or fighting. They both scrambled backward as one of the men fell dead in front of them. Another man went to attack Ember and Scorpius again when a knife hit him straight in the back and he fell to his knees and then to the ground. Soon all the chaos stopped and Adwell's men either gave up and apparated away or were lying dead on the ground around them.

Ember stood up and looked at the hooded figure and her eyes went wide and welled with tears when they finally revealed themselves.

"Aunt Hermione?" she whispered before she turned to see who else was with them.

She saw Ron, Blaise and Kingsley pull down their cloaks. She felt this enormous amount of pressure suddenly lift off of her shoulders and she broke down crying. She felt safe somehow seeing them.

Hermione just stared at them, her eyes taking in a young Ginny and Draco... it was like staring into the past. She felt Ember run into her arms and latch onto her tightly as she cried, the rest of her sisters piling around her and Ron.

"You ok?" Ron asked Scorpius, grabbing his face and looking at his tear-filled eyes.

He nodded before he let his uncle pull him into a tight hug.

"Ember where is Riley?" Hermione asked.

Ember pulled back a bit and cried harder as she shook her head. "I... I don't know... w- we left her because she w-was hurt... they took her. I don't k-know if she s-survived." she choked out.

Hermione just pulled her into a tight hug. "It's ok, everything is ok... we're here now," she whispered to her. She looked over at Ron, both of their hearts breaking for every one of them.

"We need to get out of here," Kingsley said as he pulled out what Ember assumed was a Portkey. "Grab a hold everyone." he said a she helped Jake hold up James' unconscious body.

Scorpius went to reach forward, he paused to look at the blood all over his hand before he met Blaise's gaze. He looked away after a moment before he touched the Portkey and felt a tug behind his navel.

* * *

Draco started stirring in his sleep before he finally cracked his eyes open to see what had woken him up. The first thing he noticed was the blaring white lights that were always on even at night were out. He sat up and noticed the entire room was dark, his eyes traveling over to Ginny's room to see if she was awake. He could make out a shimmer of her copper strands starting to move before he turned to Harry's room.

"What the fuck?" he mumbled out as he got out his bed.

Harry's room was filled with electricity, silent cracks of lightning danced down around the entire room and traveled up the walls that surrounded him.

"Harry! Wake up!" he yelled as he pounded on the glass.

He soon realized there was no use in trying to wake him, he was still out cold. He took a few steps back and just watched the electricity continue to fill the room. He could see it running through Harry's body.

"Draco?"

He turned to see Ginny standing by her door and she opened it up. "The electricity is out." she said.

Draco quickly ran to his door and opened it, they were both out of their rooms now.

"I wonder how much of this place has lost power. Every secured door should be open, but how do we get Harry out? There's no way we can take him with us like that." he said as he studied Harry's powers once more.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... we need to leave him for now. We could help more if we aren't locked up in here." she explained.

As much as it killed them both to do it, they knew they wouldn't get another chance like this. They had absolutely nothing as far as coming up with a way to get out of here so they took what chances they got. They quickly ran over to the door to the lab and quietly pulled it open. Ginny gave one last look at Harry before she felt Draco tug on her wrist and pull her along.

The halls were almost pitch black, they could hardly make out anything in front of them. The only light was that from the elevator up ahead, each floor light illuminating as it made its way up.

"The elevator is still working? That means its not the whole building that's out... just this floor." Draco said. "Which is a problem for us."

"We aren't getting out of here, are we?" Ginny asked him, all hope of actually escaping this nightmare diminishing.

"I'm not giving up that easily." he said as he leaned up against the side of the wall outside of the elevator with Ginny on the other side.

The elevator came to a stop and a small bell sound filled the hall as the doors opened. Crystal walked out of it and Draco punched her hard, the pain in his wrist made him yell out in pain. He knew what kind of powers she had and before she could attempt to use them, he swung his fist again and knocked her out. He grabbed Ginny's hand and ran into the elevator, not noticing that Eve was in the corner watching the scene unfold.

He reached forward and grabbed her roughly by the shirt, he knew she tried to help when she could but he didn't trust her still.

"What floor is Riley on?" he asked her.

She didn't say anything, she just stared at him as her lips trembled with fear.

"WHERE IS SHE?" he screamed in her face.

She stared into his eyes for a moment before she softly choked out. "I'm sorry."

He gave her a confused look at her words before he watched her pupils change to this dark purple and her eyes traveled over his shoulder to Ginny. He went to turn around when Ginny punched him hard in the face. He barely had time to regain his composure before she kicked him hard in the chest against the elevator wall.

"Ginny stop!" he yelled to her as he pushed her away from him.

Her mind was not her own, he knew Eve was controlling her. Ginny swung her fist again at him as he ducked out of the way, her other fist collided with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She grabbed him by the hair and brought his face down to her knee before she threw him back onto the ground. She brought her foot up and stomped on his broken wrist as he released a painful scream. She pinned him down to the floor, her face twisted into anger and rage as she wrapped her hands around his throat. Before her hold on him grew tighter she went flying backward into the wall by a spell.

Draco turned to see Crystal wiping her bloody nose off on her sleeve with her wand tightly gripped. She stood over Draco and stared down at him for a moment before she pointed her wand at him.

"I applaud your efforts, but now you're just pissing me off." she said before she shot a spell down at him, making everything go black.

 **A/N: There you go, I don't know about you guys, but I felt a sense of relief when Hermione and the others finally showed up. Your thoughts on this chapter? What do you think of Ember snapping at Jake like that? What about hearing all the stuff his family has done to hers? I love you guys! I appreciate all your reviews on my chapters and welcome all new ones. It's greatly appreciated.**


	18. Chapter 18

Ember felt her feet hit the ground, the smell of grass filled her nose. She looked across the open field of tall grass under the night sky until her eyes fell on a large house in the distance. She immediately looked over at Scorpius, who had a confused look on his face.

"Aunt Hermione, why does this place look so familiar?" Ember asked as they started making their way towards the house.

"That's interesting because this house was one of the houses we hid at when Lucius was around. It belonged to McGonagall's family... your mother burned it to the ground with her powers." Hermione said with a smirk as she looked at Ron at the mention of the memory. "You two weren't born yet, she was only about five months pregnant with you guys I think so I'm not sure why it looks so familiar," she explained. "We've put a ward around it and charmed it so that it still appears to just be a pile of burned up rubble."

"What about the house Blaise told us about?" Ember asked.

"We went there... the walls were barely standing," Blaise said.

"How did you find us?"

"Apparently one of the men Adwell had working for him was more loyal to Kingsley and us than Beckett and the Adwell brothers. The last place we knew you guys to be around was the Muggle convenience store you all robbed." Hermione stopped and gave them a stern look. "After that, we had no idea... it was our inside guy, Matthew, who told us the rest."

Aurora stopped listening to the conversation and walked over to where James was as he started to wake up.

"James, are you ok?" she asked him as she gently grabbed his face.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said as he took in the crowd of people walking a bit ahead.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at Aurora with a small smile, relieved at the fact that they finally caught a break. His smile soon faded as he thought back to losing control of his powers. Aurora could see it on his face and before he could say a word she laced her fingers with his and pulled him to follow her the rest of the way.

Scorpius kept walking, trying with everything to ignore the pain from the wound on his side. He slowed his pace a bit until he was at the back of the group so he could lift his shirt to get a better look at it. When he peeled his blood-soaked shirt up, he let out a painful growl as blood continued to pour from it. He didn't realize how bad it was at the time until all the adrenaline wore off. He stopped walking, the loss of blood brought him to his knees.

"No you don't, Bud, come on, on your feet. We just have a bit more to go." Ron said as he threw one of his arms over his shoulders and helped him along. "Hey?"

Scorpius looked at him.

"Don't fuckin die on me. Do you have any idea the shit I'm going to hear from my sister if I let her son die?" Ron asked him.

Scorpius smirked at his comment before he sneered at the pain in his side and continued pushing himself.

After a few minutes longer they finally got to the front of the house and Hermione opened the front door.

"Molly!" she called out.

Ember looked at her aunt to make sure she heard her correctly and sure enough, there she was... her grandmother. Standing there and waiting for them all to come back to her.

"Grandma?" Ember cried.

She was unable to move from the spot she was in as her emotions seemed to have paralyzed her. She felt her grandmothers arms around her as silence filled her ears, the only sound was the muffled crying from Molly.

"Bella! James!" Luna cried out as she ran over to them and pulled them to her.

She was hysterical as she latched onto them so tightly her fingers turned white.

Ember pulled back from the hug and turned to her brother, something was off and she could feel it. She watched him go down in what seemed like slow motion, the embrace of her grandmother abandoning her as Molly ran to his side. Ember's eyes were locked on her brother's as her heart seemed to stop beating altogether. She watched his eyes start to close as he fell unconscious, her legs failing her as she became consumed by fear at the thought of losing her brother.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes to see the blaring white lights shining down into his room. He brought his hand up to his jaw and moved it around a bit as it felt stiff.

"Sorry." said a small voice.

He sat up to see Ginny sitting on the floor by the wall waiting for him to wake up.

"Sorry for what exactly? Beating the fuck out of me? You have a bloody good right hook, I'll give you that." he said as he touched the cut on his lip and gave a small hiss. "If we weren't in this situation, I'd have been a bit turned on by it," he smirked. "Keep this in mind for our next roleplay." he lightly joked.

She shook her head in amusement, then gave him a sad smile before she looked over at Harry, who was waking up.

"Harry?" Draco called to him.

Harry just sat up and tried to take in his surroundings, he grabbed his head in incredible pain. His fingers slid through his hair and grabbed it in big chunks as he swore his head was about to explode.

"Harry, are you ok?" Draco asked.

He shook his head as he swung his legs off the side of the bed and attempted to get up. He hardly was able to stand and just collapsed to the floor.

"Hey, Harry, what's wrong? What is it? Do you know what they did to you?" Draco started to berate him with questions and he ran over to wall between them.

"Th-they..." he could hardly speak as he was doubled over from the pain in his head.

Draco could see the blood just pouring from his nose. He turned to Ginny, her eyes filled with worry and tears at the sight of him. He got down onto the floor to Harry's level as he started to worry if Harry was going to be alright.

He watched Harry drag himself over to the wall where he was until he managed to pick his head up enough to look at him. He looked into Harry's bloodshot eyes, something was off.

"What did they do to you?" he whispered to him.

Harry wiped his nose with hand and then again with the other and after a while just gave up as it continued to pour. He tried to speak, he tried to stand, but he could only feel his heartbeat in his head.

He lifted his bloody hand to the wall to hold himself up. "I-I don't know what it was exactly... something similar to what they injected Ginny with." he managed to growl out through the pain. "They wanted to test the strength of my powers, they used some kind of enhancer serum... a lot like the one Ginny experienced."

"Damn Harry, how much of that stuff did they inject you with?" Ginny asked as memories of her experience with it flooded her mind.

He didn't answer... he couldn't, he was in too much pain. His bloody hand slid down the wall and fell limp at his side as he rested his forehead against the glass.

"Harry, tell me what you remember?" Draco softly asked him.

Harry looked up at him, tears of pain slid down his face as he gave a small laugh. "What I remember?" the amused look on his face faded as he brought a shaky hand up to his nose and wiped it once more. "I remember letting James down... not being there for him." he choked out before he hung his head.

"What are you talking about? That's nonsense, you've always been there for James... Bella, all of us." Draco told him.

Harry just shook his head, his body was shaking, he couldn't keep a straight thought.

Ginny and Draco watched Eve walk into the room and unlocked Harry's door.

"What's wrong with him? Why is acting like that?" Ginny asked as she wiped a few stray tears away.

Eve ignored her as she knelt down in front of Harry and studied him for a moment.

"Harry?" Eve called softly to him.

It was almost as if he didn't even realize she was there in front of him. She gently grabbed his face in her hands and turned him to look at her.

"You're ok," she whispered out before she slid her hands up to each side of his head.

Draco wasn't really sure what she did, all he knew was that Harry's heavy breathing and bleeding nose suddenly stopped. All signs of pain he was in had gone and he started to calm down. He looked as if he would pass out now; like his whole body couldn't handle keeping itself functioning at the moment. Eve cupped one side of Harry's face as his eyes traveled up to hers, his tears finally drying.

"Better?"

He nodded before she gave him a soft smile and handed him a rag for his bloody nose. She helped him up and over to his bed before she took out a syringe from her lab coat and quickly stuck it in his arm before he could protest.

"What is that? What are you giving him?" Draco asked, anger rising in his throat at the memory of her betraying them.

"It's just something to relax him and help him sleep the rest of this off," she replied.

"The rest of what off exactly? How about we get some fuckin answers." Draco demanded.

Eve turned to look at him, she could see the anger in his eyes towards her. She looked down at Harry as he finally fell asleep and ran her fingers through his messy hair before she got up and left his room.

She walked over to Draco and Ginny. "Mr. Potter was injected with the same steroid we used on Ginny, it was just a more advanced serum. He was also injected with another power, but his body didn't respond to it well and more importantly, it didn't stick."

"Wait, is that what they tried to do to me? Is that what all the serum sample 101 shit was when I almost fuckin dropped dead that day?" Draco fumed.

Eve looked at the camera to make sure nobody was coming before she took a step closer to his room. "You know the story of how my mother died, right here in this room in that bed." she nodded to the one behind her. "My mother's body wasn't strong enough to handle so many magical abilities at once, so much power to be forced into one person." she looked away from him. "Sometimes I can hardly handle just one."

She was quiet for a moment before she regained her composure and looked back up at them. "My father is testing a little bit out at a time to see how the subjects-I mean... to see how you guys will react and if you can obtain both. If that is successful, then he hopes to add another and make it three... and then so on."

"Mr. Adwell wants to do the same exact thing he tried to do with his wife... on your mother that got her killed? That's insane, Draco and Harry could hardly take the one... you'll end up killing someone." Ginny replied, a look of worry covering her face.

They were all silent for a few moments.

"So let's say he does succeed... what is the endgame here?" Draco asked her.

"Well, to Minister Beckett he wants to try to obtain the serum for Ministry use. What exactly for? I can't be sure, it's between my father and him, something I know nothing about. Maybe to use on Aurors to build a better defense? But I think my father wants it for his own personal use... to be powerful. He doesn't share everything with me as he does with Crystal, for all I know he could be creating an army of powerful witches and wizards." she explained.

"He probably doesn't share anything with you because you're a traitor... that you betrayed him." Draco spat at her.

She knew what he was getting at. "You think I betrayed you?" she asked.

"Didn't you?" Ginny argued.

"No, all because I was kind doesn't mean I was fixing to break you out of here. Besides... my father has reminded me of my place," she said as she brought her hand up to the bruise on her face.

"Eve... your powers, you could control someone's mind? How come not your fathers and end this nightmare for everyone?" Draco asked her.

She shook her head. "I've tried... it's never worked, he's done something that keeps me out of his head. See, not only does he experiment with magical abilities and people... he has done so with spells and dark magic. He has developed some interesting curses... and some quite horrifying." she said in almost a whisper before she fell silent. She finally looked up at Draco and narrowed her eyes. "And no, I haven't used it on Crystal."

"So you can read my mind too?"

She gave him a small smile. "Read it, control it, feel it... manipulate it." she looked at Ginny. "I can take her mind back to her first day here," she said as her eyes turned a dark purple and focused on Ginny.

Ginny looked around the room and then at Draco, he saw the panic in her eyes. "Draco? Are you ok? What happened to you?" she asked, taking in his broken wrist and busted lip.

Draco looked at Eve, his eyes wide.

"Or I can take her mind back nineteen years ago," Eve whispered.

Ginny grabbed her head and fell to her knees.

"Ginny!" Draco ran over to the wall and knelt down before her. "Hey, are you ok?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wide before she scrambled backward. "Malfoy? Where am I? Why are we here?"

He just stared at her. "We weren't together nineteen years ago," he said softly to himself.

"Yes, back when she hated you," Eve replied as she studied the look on Draco's face.

"When I hated you? I've always hated you and always will." Ginny spat. Her eyes traveled over to Harry. "Harry! What did you do to him?"

"What did I do to him? Um, hello, I'm stuck in this box just like you and still you think I'm the one behind this?" Draco shot back, not sure why he was even arguing with her when he knew her mind was just being manipulated.

"You probably threw yourself in here on purpose to pretend you're on our side just so you can kill us and turn into the murderous scum that lurks beneath the slimy skin you hide behind." Ginny hissed.

"Ouch, that one even hurt me," Eve mumbled.

"Ok, enough, you made your point," Draco said to Eve. "Change her back."

"Are you sure?"

"YES!" he yelled, the hate Ginny held in her eyes for him was ripping him apart.

"Let's go further? How about when she didn't know who you were at all? Better yet, how about just erasing every last memory of her family and you?"

"NO! Please don't," he begged her.

Eve looked at him as she walked up to the glass wall between them. "I would never do that," she swore as her eyes returned to their normal color.

Draco looked at Ginny, who was rubbing the side of her head before she looked up at him. "Ginny? Are you ok?"

She nodded.

Eve took a few steps backward, her eyes locked on Draco. "I know you think I might be your way out of here... but you're wrong and I'm sorry." she choked out, quickly leaving the room before she showed any more emotion to them than she already had.

* * *

Ember ran her fingers through her brother's hair as she watched him sleep before she let out a light sigh. She heard someone walk into the room and come up behind the chair she was sitting in.

"Your grandmother wants you downstairs so she can look over your injuries," Blaise said.

She was quiet for a few moments. "This whole time I was trying to lead us to someplace safe... and it wasn't even there."

He gave her a sad look. "How were you to know? I didn't even know the condition of the house."

Again she was quiet for a few moments. "I failed them... I let them all down." she scoffed at her words.

"You kept everyone alive, how is that failing?"

"Yeah, everyone except Riley."

"You don't know if Riley is dead."

"Yeah, well, I don't know if she's alive either." she snapped before she quickly got up and left the room.

Ember made her way downstairs to the kitchen where Molly was waiting for her. She watched her tap the chair beside her to sit down. Her eyes traveled over to Aurora sitting across from her, she had a few cuts and bruises on her face. She was already showered and changed into clean clothes that their grandmother made for her.

"You need to go shower and change as well." Mrs. Weasley said as she picked up on Ember's thoughts.

She didn't say anything as she felt her grandmother rip part of her jeans to get a better look at the bullet graze on her thigh. Ember watched her, she was so focused, not one word about their grandfather.

"Grandma?"

Molly looked up at her. "Yes, Dear?"

"I'm really sorry about Grandpa... I wish we could have been there with you when... " she trailed off.

Molly reached up and wiped a stray tear from Ember's face. "You are here now," she said through her own rising emotions. "I'm going to grab some more bandages, I'll be right back."

Ember watched her hurry into the other room before the room grew silent.

"Ember?"

She looked over at her sister.

"You did amazing out there," Aurora said softly, her voice cracking.

Ember just shook her head at her sister's words, prompting Aurora to get up and sit in front of her instead. She tried to look at her face, but Ember couldn't bring herself to look into her sister's eyes.

"Everyone is alive because you and Scorpius stepped up out there and I just know... I can just feel it... that Riley is alive too."

Ember's eyes finally traveled up to meet hers, she let her tears fall.

"We are safe right now... Mum and Dad would be really proud of you guys." Aurora said with a small smile.

"Your parents would be proud of all of you," Molly said, walking back into the room. "Just think, a couple of weeks ago you couldn't even do your own laundry... but now you've managed to outrun the Ministry and fight to survive."

"Yeah, but we probably still won't do our own laundry." Aurora joked, making Ember give a small laugh.

Aurora gave Ember and her grandmother a quick hug before she went upstairs to get a bit of sleep before the sun came up. As she climbed the stairs, she saw James standing in the hallway looking through one of the bedroom doors that were opened a bit. As she walked closer to him she could hear voices coming from the bedroom and she stood behind him to also listen. A smile stretched across her face when she heard it was Luna reading a book to Bella.

"I remember when she used to read to me," he said, shooting her a quick glance. "Now that I'm older she still manages a way to attempt to tuck me in, whether it's just a quick kiss on the head Goodnight or making sure my entire body was covered with enough blanket." he laughed, causing Aurora to give a soft giggle.

He turned to look at her. "And my father... we use to have this agreement of sorts. Each night, he would allow me one question to ask, it could've been on anything but it was always about his past. Whether it be something I've heard from school as a rumor or just things I was curious about. He would have to answer truthfully though, no matter how hard the answer might be. I mean we always talked about his past, but these moments were... they just meant so much more to me." his smile faded. "I miss him."

Aurora wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. She felt him pull her closer. She let his scent fill her senses before she looked up at him, she swore her heart skipped a beat from the way he looked at her. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. As soon as his mouth left hers, she wanted to pull him back to her again but instead, she took a step back. An overwhelming amount of love for him overcame her, forcing her to leave him with a smile before she walked down the hall into her bedroom.

* * *

The next morning the house was filled with much more noise than when they all arrived there in the middle of the night. They were unaware of Raven, Rose, and Hugo also being there. Scorpius sat up in bed and looked down at the bandage on his side. He saw a few vials on his nightstand, some full and some empty. He opened one and downed it.

"Don't you care what it is you just took?" came Raven's voice from the doorway.

"Raven?" he made a move to get up, but she was in his arms before he had time to pull the covers off himself.

She kissed him firmly, he could feel all her nerves relax in his arms as she realized he was really there with her.

"I figured if it's on my nightstand in my current condition it must be something I need." he finally answered her.

"You'd be right, it was a pain relief potion... but the one beside it was a sleeping potion so I guess you just got lucky." she laughed.

She just sat there on her knees in front of him on the bed, her eyes locking with his.

"Raven?" came a voice from across the room.

Scorpius looked over her shoulder to see Blaise standing in the doorway and without thinking he quickly shoved Raven away from him. He pushed her harder than intended, as he heard her hit the floor with a hard thump.

"Oops, sorry," he mumbled out.

"Downstairs for breakfast," Blaise demanded before he shook his head and left the doorway.

"Yes, Dad, I'll be right down," she said sweetly before she turned and glared at Scorpius. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, I don't want him seeing us in bed together... he will kill me... he already tried." he explained.

"Relax, first off, the first time you almost got me pregnant so maybe it was justified?" she suggested with a smirk.

Scorpius thought about it for a moment. "I suppose."

"And second, I'm an adult, as are you and my father is going to have to get used to seeing us together. So can you try not to shove me to the ground every time he comes around?"

"I'll try, but no promises."

She sat on the edge of the bed and just looked at him, her smile as big as ever.

"Why did you come after us?"

Her smile faded. "We have a lot to talk about."

She helped him out of bed and they made their way downstairs for breakfast. Ember was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps with a relieved smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, I mean, it still feels like someone stuck a knife in my side but otherwise good."

She gave him a playful slap before she pulled him into a hug. "You scared me," she whispered in his ear, emotion filling her voice.

"I won't leave you... I promise, born together..."

She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes watering. "Best friends forever." she finished before hugging him tightly once more.

They both made their way into the kitchen and it was a bit overwhelming at first seeing everyone there. They just stood there for a moment to take it all in, their cousins and aunt and uncle all around lost in conversation. It was weird to think that just a few hours ago they were running for their lives and were almost killed.

"It's lovely to see you two again." came a voice from behind them.

They turned to see McGonagall standing there.

"Come, we have much to discuss," she said as she led them over to the table to sit.

Once everyone was seated it became quiet at first. Everyone was here except Ginny, Draco, and Harry and a sadness filled the room.

Hermione finally cleared her throat. "First, I want to tell you all how proud we are of all of you. You did extraordinary out there given the circumstances and the positions you constantly found yourself in," she said, as she gently squeezed Ellie's hand beside her. "Now this... " she started as she reached for a file and slid it over to Scorpius and Ember. "That is Noah's medical file. Raven came across it at the hospital and you'll soon find out in there that Noah isn't dead."

"What!" Scorpius, Ember, and James yelled out together.

"He was released into his father's care, however, he was still in a coma when he was discharged, which means Mr. Adwell is the one who ordered his release and he must be at his lab," Kingsley explained.

"Why would Mr. Adwell bring Noah there? You don't think... " Ember trailed off.

"That he would experiment on his own son? We don't know what to think, there is hardly any information on him, his brother or his family." Hermione finished.

"Ember, do you remember Noah ever speaking about his family? Anything that might be helpful?" Kingsley asked her.

Ember sat there and thought for a moment. "Not much, I know his mother died, but I don't know how. I know he has siblings, but I don't know how many, he never spoke about them. He said something once about his sister being away at school. That's all... I know he's a Half-Blood too... his mother was a Muggle."

Kingsley and the others seemed to be contemplating something before McGonagall broke the silence.

"Well, it's a good thing we found you all safe, right now... you lot are the most important part in all of this."

They all exchanged a curious look. "How exactly is that?" Scorpius asked.

"Jack Adwell is a very intelligent man with knowledge of some of the most advanced kind of magic I have ever witnessed. He not only studies and experiments on people with your type of abilities, but also with dark magic." Hermione explained.

"The bottom line is we have no idea what awaits us inside that lab." Blaise simplified it.

"Wait, you guys are going to Adwell labs? There is no way they will let you in." Ember said.

"Oh no, we are all going and we will be breaking into Adwell labs," Hermione explained.

"That's almost impossible," Scorpius stated. "You saw how secure it was when we went."

"That is why you guys are going to be the key to getting us in there," McGonagall said with a smirk. "You will need to learn how to develop and use your powers to their full extent if we hope to succeed."

"You want us to rescue our parents?" Ember asked to confirm what she was hearing, a look of uncertainty covering her face.

"Yes... all of us," Hermione said.

Ember turned to look at her brother, it was obvious neither of them had as much confidence in themselves as the others did in them.

"Are you guys on board? We all work together to get your parents out of there?" Hermione asked.

"What about after we get them out? Then what? They will come after us." James asked.

"One thing at a time guys. We will run and got into hiding or leave the Wizarding World altogether if we have to, but Draco, Ginny, and Harry are our family. No matter where we are... as long as we are together, that's all that matters." Hermione said firmly.

"So what do you say?" Ron asked them.

Ember wasn't sure why, but nothing was coming out of her mouth, all she could think about was already failing everyone and she hadn't even agreed to anything yet.

"Ember?"

She looked to her side where Scorpius softly called to her.

He leaned in to get closer to her ear and whispered. "Are you afraid I'll still be able to kick your arse during practice?"

She looked at him, a wide smirk crossing her lips before she turned back to the others. "When does practice start?"

* * *

Ellie was sitting out on the dock with her feet hanging in the small lake just taking in how peaceful it was. It felt amazing to just sit and relax without having to constantly watch her back. She was surprised at how deserted it was in this area. She overheard McGonagall telling Harper about some of the memories that took place here when her parents went into hiding from her grandfather.

Her mind went to the conversation from earlier. She so badly wanted her powers to surface again so that she could be more helpful to everyone. She closed her eyes tightly as she desperately tried to conjure up anything... a flicker... a snowflake even... but nothing. She let out a frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair and stared down at the few fish that swam around her feet.

"Oh to be a fish," she mumbled out.

She felt one of them hit her foot and then she swore she saw one of them swim through it. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked closer into the water as she wiggled her toes once more. She watched one of the fish swim around her ankle before she saw it swim through her again. She quickly pulled her feet from the water and scrambled back a bit on the deck. Her hands feeling her feet and rubbing them to make sure everything was ok.

"What the hell?" she whispered out to herself through her heavy breaths.

After she collected herself more, she crawled over to the edge of the dock and looked down into the water. Her eyes were locked on the fish swimming back and forth. She slowly reached down with one of her hands and submerged it a little bit past her wrist. She wiggled her fingers a bit to attract the small fish once more and just as she feared, one swam through her hand.

She let out a small gasp as she pulled her hand from the water and looked at it. It was kind of translucent looking... like it was made of water. She could see clear through her hand into the water below. She took her other hand and went to touch her her palm when all she felt was wetness cover her fingers.

"Ellie?"

She jumped in surprise and turned to see Aurora standing there.

"Grandma wants you," she said.

Ellie quickly nodded before she looked at her hand and saw it was back to normal. Her heart was racing so fast she thought it would explode through her chest.

"Are you alright? Why are you soaking wet? Did you go swimming in your clothes?" she asked, taking in Ellie very wet appearance.

Ellie looked down at her shirt and pants and saw they were soaking wet. She grabbed her hair and felt the wet strands between her fingers.

"Uh, I fell in before... one of the boards on the deck was loose and I lost my balance." she lied.

Aurora just gave her a small giggle. "Alright clumsy, well, come back up to the house and get changed," she said before she turned and walked away.

Ellie stood up and looked herself over. "What the hell is happening to me now?" she growled out before she made her way inside to change into some dry clothes.

* * *

Ginny looked around the staged room, it had random furniture set up all about to replicate a standard bedroom. Every time one of them were pulled from their rooms for testing they feared one of them wouldn't come back alive. Her stomach was in knots as she awaited what was coming.

"How many more tests do we have to go through?" Ginny asked Crystal.

"As many as we see fit. There is always room for new discoveries, you never know what you're capable of until you're up against it. Until you're put into a position you never expected to be in." she shrugged.

"And what test is this?" Ginny asked as she watched Crystal grab a container that was placed by the door.

She walked over and uncapped it and then started to pour gasoline all over the furniture. She trailed it all around Ginny and made sure a generous amount covered the floor.

"We're going to start a little fire," she said with a smirk before she walked over and grabbed a white bucket full of liquid.

"If this is a test to see if I can absorb fire, then you're wasting your time. I've done it plenty of times." Ginny glared at her.

"Perfect, that part should be a breeze," she responded as she walked in front of Ginny and held the bucket up. "Let's step it up a bit then," she said as she threw a bucket full of gasoline all over her until she was drenched in it.

"Are you insane?" Ginny yelled out to her as Crystal walked into a small room that was protected by a glass window.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," she said as she waved her wand to release the neck device from around Ginny's neck.

"Wait, how long until my powers come back?"

Crystal just gave a casual shrug. "Hopefully soon," she said with an evil grin before she lit a match and threw it into the room before closing the door and watching from the other side.

Everything was up in flames in moments, making Ginny back away from it to avoid catching fire as well. She was surrounded by the flames and soon they would be swallowing her up at any moment. She felt not one trace of her powers surfacing and she panicked.

The flames grew higher and closer and there was no more room for her to back up. She felt the heat from the blazing fire start to burn her and soon she was engulfed in flames. As soon as she felt that flame travel across her skin, it was the most welcoming feeling she ever imagined it to be. She felt the inferno within her start to erupt and she was suddenly in control of the entire room. Her body was still covered in flames, but it was a burning she missed, a burning she hadn't felt for so long it seemed.

She was surprised though when she suddenly felt the room grow cold and the flames die out. Her hands and the ground beneath her turned to ice and then these enormous long shards burst up from the floor and lined the walls and ceiling. Ginny just stared down at the frost that continued to cover her arms and mask her hair. She tried to shift back to her fire powers, but for the first time in a long time, she could not control her own powers.

She suddenly felt her neck device wrap around her again as Crystal came back into the room, her wand tightly gripped. She took in the massive abstract walls of ice that filled the room as she made her way over to Ginny. She could see the confused expression on Ginny's face.

"Not used to that, are you?" she asked her.

"I don't understand, fire is my main power... why couldn't I-"

"No, fire WAS your main power... now you have both. How fast your powers rebounded after I took that device off was... extraordinary. There's no doubt that you're comfortable and have mastered the use of your fire powers. Having said that, now that you have ice powers your body will want to react to what it sees as a threat around it, hence the uncontrollable frost that has seemed to overcome you."

Ginny let her words sink in a bit before she watched the ice around her start to fade.

"You can still only use that blazing inferno inside you if you wish, but you'll have to learn how to suppress the ice."

"But how?"

"That's a lesson for another day," she said as she headed for the door.

"Crystal?"

She stopped and looked at Ginny.

"Does your father know you are showing us how to master our powers?"

"Why wouldn't he know?" she asked, folding her arms at what Ginny might be implying.

"Well, it's just, if it's our powers you want then why not take what you need and then just-"

"You three need to be ready."

"Ready? For what?"

She was quiet for a moment. "My father hasn't decided who yet, but the serum he is working on is a lot like the one he used on my mother. Except... this one has more than just the three my father tried to inject her with."

"So he's using one of us for the new serum?"

Crystal just looked at her before she started slowly pacing, the conversation made her more uncomfortable to talk about than Ginny thought it would. She was surprised to hear Crystal share anything with her at all about her father's plans.

Crystal glanced over at her an almost sad look covered her face. "When I was ten... I had this friend named Samuel... I called him Sam." she smiled at the memory, her eyes started to water at the mention of his name. "We were best friends. One day we were playing hide and seek and I remember chasing him at one point and he ran straight through the wall... like actually physically went through the wall. When I first saw it... I freaked out and he begged me not to say anything to anyone. I promised him I wouldn't... that his secret was safe with me."

Ginny wasn't sure why, but tears of her own started to well up in her eyes as she already knew this story wasn't going to end well.

"One day we had a disagreement on something and I got mad. I can't even remember what it was about... probably cheating at a game or something so silly. I ended up telling my parents about his powers because I was tired of him always outrunning me or outsmarting me with them." Her tears were flowing freely down her face at this point. "That was the last day I ever saw him... My father told me he had just run away and never came back... he was never found."

Ginny wasn't sure what to say or how to act, she never thought she would see Crystal in such a vulnerable state. Her heart was actually hurting for her.

"I didn't know the kind of person my father was back then... the kind of person he is now. He killed my mother and he killed Sam. My mother was a Muggle and so he thought she would be the best candidate to take on the mixture of powers. He used Sam's powers and the same ones Eve and I have. All three, he injected her with... she died in a matter of minutes."

Ginny was silent, the horror behind her childhood was appalling to hear. "Why are you telling me all of this? Why would you tell me your father's plans for this new serum?"

Crystal wiped the tears from her face before she looked up at Ginny. "Because one of you will be the new host to not three powers but six. That is why we have been testing the strength of all of your powers, to see how much control you have over them. We need to see how much your body can stand and what it's capable of. If it can take on a new power and have it be as powerful as the rest. Unfortunately for you... I'm pretty sure you're the one my father will choose."

Ginny felt her heart start to race; a lump forming in her throat as fear filled her. "Me? Why me?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Well, you already have two of the six he plans to use and your body has adapted well to them... you are the ideal candidate for the experiment."

"But I'm pregnant, what about my baby?" she asked as new tears formed in her eyes.

Crystal wiped the last of her tears away before she composed herself again. "Yeah, we'll have to take care of that."

* * *

Ember sat on the porch swing and watched the sun starting to set in the distance. Her eyes traveled to the lake and took in how calm it looked, just an occasional ripple here and there. She heard someone come out the back door and take a seat beside her; she was always able to tell when Scorpius was around her even if she didn't see him.

"Shouldn't you be upstairs resting up for tomorrow?" she asked as she finally turned to look at him.

"I'm sick of laying in bed all day." he shrugged before he studied her face. "Have you talked to Jake?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Should I?"

He let out a hard sigh. "Uh, yeah, definitely. Listen, would you ever do the things our grandfather had done? Killing innocent people and terrorizing the world?"

"Of course not." she quickly answered.

"Right, so it would be unfair to treat you like somebody who did or would... right?" he asked, looking at her with a hard stare.

She nodded before she let out a frustrated sigh. "I know I was just the one defending Jake to Mum a few weeks ago, but now I feel like I'm betraying her and Dad by still wanting to be with him."

"You know what I think? I think the news of Noah still being alive is fucking with your head. Jake is not Noah and he is not his father." he said firmly. "Jake really cares about you."

"How can you tell?"

Scorpius just started laughing. "Are you serious? He has been by our side since this whole thing started. He risked his life and his freedom to go on the run with us just so he can help. Believe me Sis... he likes you... a lot."

Ember bit her lip at his words as she thought about it. She really liked Jake too, but with everything that happened between his family and her parents, she wasn't even sure how he felt about it. The truth was that they both had been avoiding each other ever since it was mentioned. Now the news about Noah not being dead was stirring up feelings of anger and disgust from her last encounter with him. Of course, she didn't want Noah to be dead, that means her brother and James weren't killers and she knew how much that meant to both of them.

"There you two are." came Hermione's voice as she walked out onto the porch. "You guys ok?"

They both nodded. They watched Hermione just stare at them and seemed to get lost in her own thoughts.

"Aunt Hermione? Are you ok?" Scorpius asked her.

Hermione just shook her head to empty her mind of all the memories that filled it. "Yes, I was just... remembering," she said with a smile before she looked out at the field.

"Remembering what exactly?" Ember asked.

"Ron and I got married here... right over there in that spot." she pointed out to the grassy field. "And your parents... they practiced day after day out here on this very field, learning to control and develop their powers."

Ember and Scorpius exchanged a smile.

"Really? How long did it take them to master them?" Ember asked.

"Oh gosh, you know what... I think it took years for that. There is so much to learn when it comes to the incredible gift you guys have." she explained. "I think your parents are still learning new things about their powers."

Hermione watched them both start to fall into a pool of their own thoughts at the mention of their parents.

"You see the foyer in there?" Hermione asked suddenly as she pointed through the window where you could see clear into the dining room through the kitchen.

They both nodded.

"Right there was where your father stood the day your mum blurted out that she was pregnant in front of everyone."

"Everyone?"

"EVERYONE, the whole Order," Hermione giggled. "Looking back now his facial expression was the funniest thing I've ever seen." she laughed a little harder causing the twins to also laugh. Her laughter died down and her smile soon faded before her eyes fell on them again. "You guys can do this... I know you can. I love you both so much." she choked out before pulling them both into a hug.

* * *

Ember made her way upstairs after her conversation with her aunt and Scorpius and decided to just turn in for the night. That was until she was passing Jake's room and something made her stop.

"Fuck," she mumbled out before she lifted her fist to knock, but then just let it hover there for a moment.

She closed her eyes tightly and let out a shaky breath before she knocked on the door. It was a few moments later when Jake finally opened it and was surprised to see her standing there.

"Ember? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," she said.

"Oh... ok."

They both stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Actually Jake, everything isn't fine, can we talk?" she suddenly asked.

He nodded before he opened the door all the way to let her in and then he closed it behind him. He watched her eyes travel to the closed door and watched her rub her sweaty palms on her knees as she took a seat on his bed.

"Do you want me to leave the door open?" he asked her.

She was just staring at the closed door as the words replayed in her head about the things Jake's father did.

"What? Oh, the door, no it's fine you can leave it closed," she said.

He went to go take a seat beside her, but he could feel her body tense up as he neared her; his heart breaking. He took a seat in front of her instead in the armchair.

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's a lot better."

Silence filled the room.

"Ember?"

"Huh?"

"You wanted to talk?" he reminded her.

"Yeah... um-"

"It's ok," he said.

"What's ok?"

"It's ok that you don't want to be with me," he said so softly she could barely hear him.

They locked eyes, hers welling with tears. "What? No... no, it's not ok and that's not what I want." she rubbed her face roughly before she locked eyes with him once more. "I... I want... you."

He got up and sat beside her, he could tell her words were genuine in what she said even though her body still seemed to tense up at how close he was to her. Any other time he would never push her to do anything she was uncomfortable with, but he ignored her stiffened body language and gently grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"Ember?"

She lifted her face to look at him.

"I've told you this before, but I want to make it clear again. I would never hurt you; I would never do anything to cause you any pain. I really wish you would believe that, but I understand why you wouldn't."

"I'm sorry; it's unfair for me to think any less of you based on what happened between our parents so long ago. I just... it's hard for me to completely trust you like that. I trusted Noah... Hell, I think I might have even thought I loved him at one point and then..." She shook her head at how stupid she felt." He just really destroyed me emotionally... mentally... I was naive and weak and he played off of that, used me."

She adjusted her position on the bed to get a better look at him and squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "You've done nothing wrong, you've been great, amazing really. I have no reason why I shouldn't trust you... it's just me, and I know I'm wrong for feeling this way and I'm so sorry." she said, trying not to cry as she struggled to get her words out.

He tucked a piece of her flaming hair behind her ear before his thumb wiped one of her tears away. "You never have to apologize to me."

She brought her hand up to cover his as he cupped her face. The feel of his hand against her skin made her want to melt into a puddle right there.

"Whatever you need, just tell me," he said softly.

His words, his eyes, his touch... everything he said and did right now completely reeled her in. She was captivated by it all, so much that she thought she might literally pass out from how fast her heart was beating and the constant fluttering in her stomach.

"I need you to kiss me," she whispered.

"What?"

"Please kiss me," she begged him, as her body was unable to move at the moment.

He hardly waited for her to confirm what she asked before he pulled her to him. He held her face so softly in his hands and he kissed her passionately as she hungrily kissed him back. His fingers traveled deep into her fiery strands as he pulled her closer. He felt her completely forget everything she just told him and as flattered as he was that he had that effect on her, he felt bad to take advantage of it. He soon made their forceful make out session come to a stop as he pulled back. He saw her eyes flutter open and gave him a questioning look.

"I could kiss you all night, Ember, but you need to go sort out your feelings before we continue anything. You are a bit mixed up right now and I wouldn't feel right snogging you any further until you've had more time to think on everything that's been put out there. You understand?" he asked.

She gave a tearful nod before he placed a soft kiss on her forehead then quickly got up and left his bedroom.

 **A/N: A lot going on in this one and a lot of info revealed. Lot's to discuss guys, what did you think? I would love some feedback.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys, I am so sorry for taking so long to update. My mother was sick in the hospital and then I got sick afterwards. Hopefully this longer chapter will make up for that =D Enjoy!**

The sound of curtains being drawn back filled the room, making him snap his eyes open. The blaring sun was hitting his face and burning his eyes as he let out a growl of frustration.

"What the fuck? Close that shit!" Scorpius muffled from under the blankets he pulled up over him.

"Let's go, Mate, you have a lot of work ahead of you today." came Ron's voice.

"What time is it?"

"Uh... I think seven thirty."

"Seven fuckin thirty?" Scorpius shouted. "Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and not get up, thanks. Come back at like eleven," he said as he cuddled deeper into his nice warm bed.

"Ok," Ron said simply before he left the room.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at how easy it was for his uncle to let him sleep longer. He gave a shrug before he started to settle in for another round of sleep until he heard loud footsteps making their way up the stairs. He could hear his grandmother's voice in the distance and he quickly kicked his blankets off and jumped out of bed and started making it.

"SCORPIUS MALFOY, YOU GET YOUR ARSE-" Molly stopped yelling when she saw he was up already. "Oh, sorry dear, Ronald said you were giving a hard time about getting up."

"Pft, me? Come on Grandma, I've already started making my bed. You know me better than that. I would never choose to sleep longer over getting as much practice in as possible to help our parents."

"Lovely to hear that, Dear," she said with a smile before she grabbed his face and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Now come downstairs and have a bite to eat and wake Ellie on your way down."

He nodded and watched her leave his bedroom before he threw himself face down on the bed and let out a loud groan into the blankets. After another minute or so he pulled himself up and headed into the hall and gave a quick knock on his sister's door.

"Ellie! Get up!" he called through the door before leaning lazily against the door frame for a response.

He opened the door and peeked inside to see she wasn't in bed.

"Ellie?" He saw the bathroom door slightly opened and heard the water running and made his way over to it. "Hey, come on, breakfast is-"

He was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door slamming shut just as he was about to push it open the rest of the way. "Ellie?"

"Don't come in!" she called through the door, a bit of panic in her voice.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the request and was about to turn away when he stopped. "Are you ok?" He didn't get a response. "Ellie? What's wrong?"

After a few more moments she finally spoke.

"I'm fine, I just... I just need a minute," she said through her heavy breaths.

He was about to pry a bit further when he felt his sock step in something wet coming from under the bathroom door. His eyes wandered over to her bed, her sheets and pillows were soaked, water dripping into a puddle beneath it.

"Ellie, what is going on?" he asked again, this time more aggressively as he grabbed the doorknob and went to turn it but soon found it to be locked.

Just as he was about to grow impatient with her, he composed himself and let out a light sigh. "Ellie, please open the door. I know something is wrong and you know as well as I do that keeping secrets in this family has never worked out for any of us."

After a few moments of hesitation on Ellie's end, the sound of the door unlocking filled the silence between them and she opened it a bit. Scorpius pushed it the rest of the way open and just stood there staring at her, his mouth falling open. She was completely translucent, he could see straight through her.

"What the actual fuck?" he said to himself as he rubbed his face roughly to make sure he wasn't still asleep.

He reached up slowly to glide his fingers over what would be her hand, but he felt wetness on his fingertips instead.

"Ellie... this is... it's incredible." he finally said as a smile crossed his lips.

"Incredible? How so? Because I'm having a lot of trouble controlling it." she choked out, her voice cracking a bit.

"I bet you haven't been able to conjure your powers up because they keep overpowering each other... so it's like they turned to water or something," he said as he studied her and tried to make sense out of it all.

Even though he could see through her watery form, he could still tell she was upset.

"Alright, just calm down... you're panicking and that's probably why you're stuck like this."

"Probably why? What if I can't change back? What if-"

"Stop!" he said loudly. "Just stop." he softened his tone. "Look at me, you're scared and I get it, but you're letting your fear stop you from fully embracing your powers." He looked away from her for a moment. "I think a lot of us are," he whispered before he looked up at her again. "Here, let me see if I can help."

He held his palm up to hers until they almost touched and she soon felt a cooling sensation covering her hand. Soon her whole hand and most of her arm was solid ice and she gave a sudden shiver. A quick flame flicked down her body from head to toe, melting the ice and bringing her back to normal. Scorpius gave her a small smile as he laced his fingers with her for a moment to reassure her he could touch her now.

"It worked." she smiled through a relieved sigh.

"Practice is definitely going to be interesting today," he smirked at her.

* * *

Draco anxiously awaited Ginny's return after she was taken for some further tests and whatever else they had planned for her. He sat up on the couch he was lounging in and glanced over at Harry. He was just sitting in the corner of his room on the floor, resting his elbows on his knees; his head hung. He hardly said a word since he had woken up and Draco was concerned for him.

He got up and walked over to the wall between them. "Harry?"

He didn't answer.

Draco gave a defeated sigh before he sat down along the wall, hoping that Harry would talk to him. The silence that filled the entire room was somewhat unbearable.

"Harry... there's something I need to tell you," he said with some hesitation.

Still, Harry didn't say a word or look his way and the room grew silent again.

"I... I told James about Dean and his father." Draco awaited the round of verbal abuse that he probably well deserved from Harry, but it never came.

Draco wasn't sure if now was a good time to bring it up, but it was something that had been bothering him since he had told James about it. He knew how much of a sensitive subject it was with Harry and he felt he had crossed a line that he shouldn't have when it came to sharing Harry's past.

"I'd ask why, but I think I know the answer to that already." Harry softly scoffed.

Draco looked at him, his head still down, his reaction was nothing he had expected.

"Well, regardless of the reasoning... it wasn't my place and... I'm sorry."

"Don't be, honestly, I appreciate you being there for James... when I couldn't be... when I wasn't," Harry said, finally lifting his head to look at him.

Draco nodded before his attention turned to the sound of the door opening up across the room. He saw Ginny and Crystal walk in, his eyes immediately looking her over for any injuries. Crystal led her into her room and locked the door.

"I'll be back to treat that burn." Crystal said, gesturing to Ginny's leg before she turned to leave.

"Ginny, are you ok? What happened?" Draco asked her.

He saw her look up at him, her eyes had tears in them and her face held a look of fear.

"Ginny?"

"I'm fine." she finally choked out.

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning her appearance once more. "No you're not," he said softly. "Ginny, look at me."

Her watery eyes finally looked up at him. "They are going to..." she choked on her words as she became overwhelmingly emotional at the mention of it.

Draco wished he could hold her, he hated seeing her so upset and wasn't able to do a damn thing about it.

"They want to terminate my pregnancy." she finally whispered out before a light emotional sigh escaped her lips.

Draco swore his heart completely stopped beating as Ginny's words hit him. His lungs forgot how to properly breathe suddenly and a lump formed in his throat. He had no idea what to even say to her or how to even react. It wasn't as if he could tell her not to worry and that everything would be ok because he would just be lying to her.

Crystal came walking back into the room with Eve beside her. Draco wanted to ask her about what Ginny said, but he was too scared to know if that was indeed their intention. They both made their way into Ginny's room and Eve started to address the burn on Ginny's leg.

"I need to take more blood from you." Crystal stated; her back turned to Ginny as she collected the supplies she needed.

Ginny didn't say anything, instead, she felt Eve's eyes on her as she muttered a quick spell to speed up the healing process. They locked eyes for a moment, she could tell Eve was reading her mind, she could tell Eve was reading Draco's mind too as she gave him a quick side glance. She could tell the news about the baby wasn't something Crystal or her father shared with her.

Eve reached up and wiped a stray tear from Ginny's face. "Riley is almost completely healed. She is out of the sling now," she said with a small smile as she tried to veer their minds to something else.

She was happy to see it brought a smile to Ginny and Draco's face.

"Can we see her?" Ginny asked.

Eve turned her attention back to the burn on her leg as she finished wrapping it without saying a word. She could feel the smile fading from Ginny's face as she knew what the answer to be.

"You're actually in luck," Crystal spoke up as she turned to Ginny. "Minister Beckett will be making an appearance here today," she said, walking over to Ginny to take a blood sample.

"So what does that mean?" Draco asked.

"Let's just say someone anonymous let slip about the way we conduct things around here and he may not agree with how... unethical we treat our... subjects." Crystal said with a small smirk. "Beckett can be just as insane as my father sometimes and do anything to benefit the Ministry and himself, but he still does everything by the book. So with that being said, we are all going to play the part today."

"So you want us to lie to the Minister about the way you've treated us? Like we'd ever do that." Draco sneered.

"Oh, I know you will, because you see Mr. Malfoy..." Crystal walked over to the wall between them. "We still have your daughter and although she may be alive and in great health right now, it would be unfortunate if she suddenly took a turn for the worse."

Eve just shook her head at her sister's words. "What she is getting at, is that you'll be able to see Riley today and the original terms of which my father and you have agreed to before coming here should be honored. Minister Beckett doesn't come here often, but when he does my father is on edge because he does many things behind the Minister's back."

"Well, we were told we could see our kids, how about that agreement?" Ginny snapped.

Crystal scoffed at her comment before she tied a tourniquet around her upper arm. "Good luck finding them. If they aren't all dead already... one of our men came back just the other day covered in your son's blood."

The room went completely silent and Crystal even flinched at her own words. She cleared her throat uncomfortably before she let Eve take over and walked outside of Ginny's room.

Eve finished taking Ginny's blood sample and watched Ginny silently cry in front of her. She turned to see Draco also watching Ginny cry, she could feel how helpless he felt. She could feel the fear they both had for their kids.

"I'm sure they are all fine. Look at how Riley pulled through; if your kids are anything like their parents... then they are all ok." Eve reassured Ginny before she looked at Draco and gave him a small smile.

"Eve, let's go," Crystal ordered.

Eve glared at her sister before she stood up and walked outside of Ginny's room and locked it back up. She felt Crystal tug on her wrist to follow her across the room to have a private word.

"What are you doing?" Crystal asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean Eve; you better stop now before Father finds out just how friendly you're being. You think they care how nice you've been to them or how you've helped them out a few times? They will kill you as soon as they get a chance if they think it will get them out of here. Don't be stupid, I know it's hard for you to disconnect from their feelings and not empathize with them... but you have to." Crystal said firmly.

Eve looked at Ginny and Draco from across the room as she listened to her sister's words.

"I don't want to see them get hurt," Eve whispered out.

"Well, too bad, this isn't the first time someone has come through here that was a decent person. You know how this works and you know what's expected of us. You also know how Father can be, please don't make him mad." Crystal pleaded with her.

Eve looked at her and let out an annoyed sigh before Crystal grabbed her roughly by the shoulders.

"I'm serious, I know you don't think I care about you, but you and Noah are the only family I have... please remember your place. Trust nobody."

Eve could see her eyes slightly start to glisten and her tone was firm but full of genuine concern. She gave Crystal a quick nod before she left the room.

* * *

She pulled her long fiery strands through the last loop of her scrunchie and formed a long ponytail. She made her way over to the center of the field where Scorpius was before she knelt down and tightened her shoelaces.

"Hope you're all healed up because you're about to take a beating." Ember confidently stated.

He smirked at her comment. "Interesting, you're usually the one picking yourself up off the ground," he said, cracking his knuckles before he looked up at her. "But I guess we'll see how this all plays out."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Indeed we will."

"Alright, let's begin, shall we?" McGonagall said as she joined them both in the field. She stopped and looked at James. "Are you going to join us?"

James just looked at her before he turned and saw Aurora giving him an encouraging nod.

"I've never really practiced like they have before, though," he said. "I'd rather just watch for now."

"Very well, let's begin." She turned back to Scorpius and Ember. "Do you both feel confident in conjuring up your powers when needed?"

"Sort of, most times I don't have an issue, but other times they have failed me," Ember explained.

"I see, let's try some simple stuff." she waved over two people from the porch to join them on the field and soon Hermione and Blaise stood opposite of Ember and Scorpius. "All you have to do is take down your opponent."

Ember and Scorpius looked at each other.

"You want me to use my powers on Mr. Zabini? Are you serious? What if I hurt him?" Scorpius asked; his eyes wide at the fact that of all people to be his practice target, it had to be Blaise.

"You're quite confident," Blaise said to him as he pulled out his wand. "But your mother isn't here this time to stop me," he smirked.

Scorpius swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at his words.

"With your powers, taking down Blaise and Hermione shouldn't be an issue," McGonagall said with a smirk of her own.

Ember and Scorpius let out a shaky breath before they got ready.

"Alright, whenever you're ready," she said before she made her way over to everyone else on the porch.

Before either Scorpius or Ember could conjure up their powers, they were hit with a spell that had them both on their backs. Hermione gave a small laugh before she walked over and helped Ember up.

"Sorry, come on, don't be afraid. I use to practice with your parents remember?"

Ember nodded before she brushed herself off and relaxed a bit. She took in Hermione's tightly gripped wand and the focused look on her face. She felt the burning flames run through her until they reached her hands and soon she was holding two raging balls of fire. Scorpius had also plucked up the courage to attempt to knock Blaise on his arse as his fists started to ice over.

Ember threw both fireballs at Hermione and saw her quickly block them. She went ahead and threw another three at her and Hermione quickly jumped out of the way of them and even used a spell to extinguish them. Ember started to feel frustrated and released a trail of fiery flames right at Hermione, letting them close in around her. She watched her aunt use a water spell to make an opening for her to run through, making Ember take her chance to shoot a bigger ball of flames at her. This time Hermione blocked it but had it deflect off her Protego charm and fly back at Ember, knocking her to the ground once more.

Scorpius wasn't having much success either, as every ball of ice or shard he sent Blaise's way was blasted to bits or melted before it could get to him. Scorpius waved his hand, making a jagged path of ice form all the way to where Blaise stood. The shards of ice formed faster than Blaise anticipated and he quickly jumped out of the way before it hit him. As soon as he was clear of it, he whipped his wand through the air and hit Scorpius with a powerful spell making him fly backward and land not too far from Ember.

Blaise saw Hermione shoot him a look.

"Sorry," he said, holding his hands up.

"I think you're enjoying this a little too much," she said with a smirk before she walked over to them.

Blaise followed her and held his hand out for Scorpius to take, but instead, Scorpius just sneered at it and pushed it aside before he picked himself up.

"What's the matter? Are you still worried you might hurt me?" Blaise mocked him.

Scorpius just ignored his comment and turned his attention to McGonagall.

"You both rely on your powers to defend yourself, which is fine, but when you're up against a Witch or Wizard who knows how to defend themselves against your powers that's where you need to be ready. Take your places again." She said as she waited for them to take their positions. "Forget that it is Blaise and Hermione standing there. Remember, we are doing this for your parents. Put aside your fear of hurting them and just focus on the goal... take them down."

Ember locked eyes with her aunt who gave her a quick nod. She stood there and waited to feel that warm burning sensation run through her again. As she did, she let McGonagall's words sink in about her parents. She missed them so much, more so now that she wasn't constantly running for her life. Every minute of the day all she did was think about them and how much she took them for granted. Her mind went to Riley, not knowing if she was dead or alive made the inferno within her surface.

Hermione shot a spell at her, but a barrier of heat formed around her before it could hit her. She ran at Hermione and released a trail of flames that twisted around her ankle and Ember pulled her to the ground. Hermione quickly broke the fiery rope around her leg with a spell and got to her feet once more. She barely had time to shoot a spell at Ember again before she felt a ball of fire hit her wrist and knock her wand out of her hand. She quickly went to grab her wand, but flames rose up around her before she could make a move.

Ember quickly approached Hermione and went to throw another round of flames at her when she was caught off guard by the hard kick Hermione gave her to the stomach, making her stumble backward before she felt her legs being kicked out from under her and she fell to the ground again.

She saw Hermione standing over her with a bright smile. "Don't look so down, you did great. You technically took me down and even disarmed me... you even gave me my first official Ember burn mark." Hermione said with a small smile before showing Ember her wrist where one of her flames had hit her.

Ember gave her a small smile before she took Hermione's outstretched hand to help her up again.

Scorpius and Blaise were still going at it, this time Scorpius was more aggressive with his powers, but Blaise was quick to keep up and dodged almost everything that came at him. Scorpius froze one of Blaise's spells in mid-air and made it fly back at him as the sharp shard grazed his face, cutting his cheek. He reached up to feel where the cut was and looked at the blood on his fingers before he shot Scorpius a deadly glare.

"Well, well... he bleeds." Scorpius drawled.

"Seeing your opponent bleed is what gives you confidence?"

"No, but it helps," he replied before he let the ground beneath him start to cover with ice until it reached Blaise's feet.

Blaise found his footing before he threw out spell after spell. He started out at a more amateur level at first but became more aggressive after Scorpius managed to harm him.

As the spells flew one after another Scorpius kept up with blocking almost everyone until one finally made him fly back. As he was falling, he formed an icy path beneath him and slid to a skidding halt on his feet. He didn't take a second to regain himself, instead, he just ran at Blaise again. Jagged icy walls formed up from the ground, some of them forming faster than Scorpius meant for them to, causing one of the icy shards to graze the side of Blaise's leg.

"Ouch, that looked like it hurt," Scorpius smirked.

Scorpius saw the look on Blaise's face turn to anger. He could tell Blaise still was feeling a certain type of way about him and he knew it had to do with Raven. Blaise waved his wand so fast Scorpius barely had time to react and he felt it hit his chest hard. He felt like all the wind was knocked out of him and then realized it was a disabling charm that Blaise hit him with.

"Oh, come on Dad, that's not fair!" Raven yelled from the porch.

Blaise walked over to Scorpius and squatted down beside him. "What's not fair? You'll have to be ready for anything, isn't that right?" Blaise asked him. "I guess without your powers you're really just defenseless," he said with a smug look. "Your powers can't be the only thing you depend on when it comes to defending yourself."

Scorpius' sneer turned to a smirk before he looked up at Blaise. "You know I graduated at the top of my class. Defense against the Dark Arts and Charms were where I excelled," he said as he quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and had Blaise disarmed and on the ground before he could blink.

Scorpius pulled himself up off the ground and was now the one looking down at Blaise. "I take after my grandmother... you know... Narcissa?" he said with a bright smile before he was the one holding his hand out for Blaise to take this time.

Blaise just stared at his hand, he was definitely Draco's son and a part of him wanted to despise him for it. Sure, he and Draco were classmates, but friends? Yeah, maybe that's what it seemed like, but they just all had something in common back then that forced them to be friends. On the other hand, he knew the man Draco turned out to be and he knew Scorpius was more than capable of keeping Raven safe. He thought back to his argument with Raven back at the house when she made it clear she chose Scorpius over him. Perhaps that is what hurt him the most, maybe that was what it was that made him bitter towards Scorpius. Raven was the only thing left in his life and he felt like he was losing her.

He quickly glanced over at his daughter before he looked up at Scorpius and took his hand to let him help him up.

"I guess you win," Blaise whispered out through clenched teeth before he glanced back over at Raven then walked back up to the porch.

Scorpius just stared after him with a confused look on his face.

"Well, that was awkward," Ember said as she walked over to him.

Scorpius just shook his head before he looked at her. "When do I get to kick your arse? That's what I'd really love to do." he teased her.

She punched him hard in the arm before they both turned their attention back to McGonagall.

"That was better, well done to you both. Now-"

"Professor?" Ember said, cutting her off.

"Yes, Miss Malfoy?"

"I know how important practicing is, but do you think we might be able to just... just..."

"Just what?"

"We'd like to loosen up a bit with our powers by having a little fun with them first... that's what she means." Scorpius said.

McGonagall just looked at both of them for a moment. She felt a bit of guilt for rushing them into it as she did, perhaps a little play fighting would be good for them.

"I'll leave you both to it then," she said with a small smile before she left the field to watch.

"Don't forget, Dad isn't here to tell you my every move to help you out," she said before making her way across the field.

"Well with how predictable you are I won't need him!" he called out to her.

Ember gave a quick glance over to the porch where she saw Jake watching her. She bit her lip as a blush came to her face and was thankful she was far enough away for nobody to notice. She looked up and locked her eyes on Scorpius before she let the flames beneath her skin surface. Being able to use her powers without any pressure of hitting a target or saving someone else's life or even her own was a lot different and a lot more enjoyable. She had been longing to let go for a while now and practicing with Scorpius was always something she enjoyed, even if he always did win.

They both hardly gave the other any time to be ready before they started throwing their powers around. Ember ran at him and he at her and just before they were ready to slam into each other, Scorpius slid on his knees beside her, tripping her as he passed by. She quickly pulled herself up and threw a fiery rope around one of his legs that pulled him to the ground. She had a fireball in the other hand, ready to throw at him, but she quickly rolled out of the way from an icy path of jagged icicles that sliced through her fiery rope and came straight at her.

They both couldn't help the smirk that crept across their face at how good it felt to let loose a bit. Scorpius dug his fingers into the grassy field beneath his knees, the entire area beneath him and Ember started freezing over and it happened within seconds until it reached the water and froze the entire lake. The light breeze that blew through Ember's hair picked up until it started whipping wildly around her. She looked up at the sky and saw the sun disappear behind a few clouds and then this bitter coldness filled the air. Pieces of ice lifted from the shards that were all around her and started flying dangerously around until they were lost in what was now almost a blizzard surrounding her.

She reached her hand out in front of her as Scorpius disappeared from her view. The only thing she could make out was giant walls of ice forming higher and higher around her. She started to run until she could make out her brother or any of the others from the porch. She had never seen Scorpius' powers so strong before and a part of her wondered if he had lost control. She jumped out of the way just in time as the tall icy walls started to crumble and she started panicking.

"Scorpius!" She called out.

Her powers were failing her suddenly as fear kicked in and she continued to try and outrun the deadly frozen walls falling all around her. She was running and slipped on the trail of ice beneath her feet and slid into one of the crumbling walls. She felt the vibration of the collapsing wall beside her and looked up as it came falling right down on her. She felt someone grab her and suddenly felt bits of ice busting into little pieces against her skin. She uncovered her face to see James standing over her, his powers still left a tingling sensation on her skin. She watched the electrical current run up the side of the wall and formed numerous cracks in it until it crumbled into a pile of ice cubes.

She felt him grab her hand to drag her with him and she happily obliged, but the shocking current in his hand rejuvenated her powers somehow. She was suddenly engulfed in flames and a wave of heat was blasted across the entire field and melted every last bit of ice around them.

She looked over at Scorpius and saw he was picking himself up off the ground, but looked like he was alright. She looked at James and gave him a bright smile.

"That was amazing, you saved me... with your powers."

James just looked at her and then down at the electrical current that still ran around his hands and body. "I guess I did."

Her eyes traveled over his shoulder to Scorpius who came walking up to them. "Sorry about that... got carried away. Are you ok?"

She didn't believe it was just that, but she nodded with a small smile.

"James, why don't you finally show us a little something with those powers of yours?" she suggested.

He smirked at her suggestion before he held his hand out and formed this electrical ball in his palm. He grabbed it tightly in his other hand and then threw it down at the ground at his feet and two electrical streams blasted out at them and sent them flying across the field. They both hit the ground so hard it made McGonagall and the others start to make their way over to make sure they were alright. They soon stopped when they saw Ember and Scorpius pick themselves up finally and advanced on him.

Ember's flames quickly wrapped themselves around James legs and arms as Scorpius froze his feet so he couldn't run. Ember had a very large fireball in her hand and held it up to throw at him.

"I promise it won't kill you, but it's definitely going to hurt," she warned.

She threw it and before it hit him it hit a barrier of ice that blocked it. Ember's eyes went wide when she saw it was Aurora standing in front of him.

"Two against one? That's not very fair." Aurora said with a sweet smile.

"You..." Ember trailed off before she narrowed her eyes and took a few steps back, her hands and arms covered in raging flames.

Aurora's hands and arms turned to this crystal like frost as they both were ready to go head to head. They circled a bit before Ember finally released an enormous stream of flames right at her. Just as she watched Ember release her powers on her, she did too, and let all the coldness that begged to be released out. Both of their powers collided so hard that James and Scorpius took cover up at the porch with the others. Both Ember and Aurora felt their feet sinking into the ground to try and get some leverage, but all their powers did was push the other back further and further. Neither of them was letting up on their powers; if anything they kept growing stronger and stronger until finally they both were blasted backward onto the ground.

Aurora and Ember propped themselves up from the ground and just stared at each other. Ember got up and walked over to meet her sister, her eyes never leaving hers.

"Show me again," Ember said softly through her heavy breathing.

Aurora waved fingers so elegantly through the air and formed a tiny snow cloud in the palm of her hand. Ember reached forward and caught the tiny snowflakes on one of her fingers as a smile stretched across her face. She then placed her finger inside the small cloud and soon the tiny snowflakes turned to rain making Aurora let out a light giggle.

"Wow." Ember whispered.

"That was amazing!" came Hermione's voice as she came running over to them.

"Yes, it was, very well done to you all. That was quite extraordinary."McGonagall said. "Aurora, dear, I'm glad you've come out about your powers, we are going to need all the help we can get."

Ember noticed Scorpius heading back to the house and quickly caught up to him. She watched him rubbing the side of his head.

"Hey, are you ok?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Yeah," he mumbled before his eyes traveled over to where Blaise and Raven were.

Ember followed his gaze. "Don't let Blaise get to you, you know how protective he is over Raven."

He stared at her for a moment before he nodded. "Sorry I almost killed you. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah." she shrugged as they walked back up towards the house together. "James' powers are pretty neat... and now Aurora, did you know?"

He gave a small chuckle. "Just for a few days, I knew she'd come out about them soon. James knew about her powers for months."

"She's had them for months? Why didn't she say anything?"

Scorpius just shrugged. "Why didn't Ellie say anything?"

They just exchanged an understanding look before Scorpius' gaze fell on his sister Ellie across the field.

"Something is up with Ellie's powers."

Ember just looked at him with wide eyes. "Like what?"

"Honestly... its better if she just shows you."

* * *

"Gin?"

He had been watching her for the past hour just laying on her bed, lost in her own thoughts. He knew she must be thinking about the baby and about Scorpius... whether he was hurt or dead. He was too, but he couldn't fall apart on her, not now.

"Ginny?"

She finally sat up on the edge of the bed and turned to look at him. When she looked at him, he found himself speechless. What could he possibly say to her right now that would make anything they were going through seem any better? He just shook his head before he rested it on the wall between them.

"I love you." was the only thing he could manage to get out.

She just gave him a small smile before she looked away again. They both looked across the room when someone walked inside. It was Crystal and she had Riley with her, she was wearing the same neck device that the rest of them had on.

"Riley!" Ginny cried out to her as she met her at the door to her room, she pressed her hand on the glass as a desperate attempt to reach her daughter.

The happiness Ginny felt at the sight of her daughter suddenly faded when she got a better look at Riley. She looked exhausted, her skin paler than normal and her eyes had dark circles under them. Her bloodshot eyes were filled with what looked permanent tears and she looked too weak to even hold herself up.

"What's wrong with her? Why does she look like that?" Ginny asked, anger filling her voice.

Crystal unlocked the door and removed the walls that separated the three rooms. "Now that your daughter has made an almost full recovery, she has been undergoing a few tests."

"Tests? Like what?" Draco demanded.

"Her powers, to see if she has them."

"And?"

"Nothing has surfaced yet... even with trying to force them out of her."

"Force them? How so?" Draco asked through clenched teeth.

"She was given a similar serum like the one your wife and Mr. Potter received... and she's been put through some physical pain to see if they would emerge. I'm sure you're familiar with the Cruciatus curse Mr. Malfoy."

"You used an unforgivable curse on my daughter you insensitive cunt." Ginny fumed, taking a step towards her; Draco's grip on her wrist stopping her from going any further.

Crystal shut the door before Ginny could come any closer and locked it. "Mr. Beckett will be here soon, be sure to play the part. Enjoy the little bit of time you get to have together," she said sweetly before she ignored Ginny's comment and left the room.

Ginny's attention went back to her daughter in front of her and she pulled her tightly into her arms.

"Riley, sweetheart... are you alright?"

Riley pulled back a bit as she winced at how tightly her mother was holding her. "I'm sorry, I'm just so sore, everything hurts Mum." she choked out.

Ginny gently grabbed her to her once more and pulled her into her lap.

Riley's eyes locked with her father's as he sat down beside Ginny.

"They think I have powers... I told them I didn't have any, but they don't believe me." she cried. "I'm so tired, Dad... why won't they believe me?" she sobbed hysterically.

Draco had to quickly rub his eyes before he spilled any tears. He didn't want Riley to see him upset. "Riley, this will all be over soon... we are going to get out of here." he lied to her. He felt horrible for doing so, but there was no way he could tell her anything different.

He looked up at Ginny, he could feel her body shaking beside him as she tried to hold in her own emotion. He could tell any second she was about to fall apart. He turned to Harry, who was already making his way over to them and squatted down beside Riley.

"Hey, come keep me some company over here... your parents need to talk," he said with a small smile, holding his hand out for her to take.

Draco gave him a thankful nod before he waited for them to walk over to Harry's room before he turned back to Ginny.

"Gin-"

She let out this loud emotional cry, all of her breath seemed to have left her body as she fell into his arms.

"We aren't getting out of here, we are going to die and the kids... the kids... they could be dead and..." she could hardly speak, she was crying so hard.

Draco grabbed her arms firmly and looked at her. "Ginny, please... please don't check out on me... I am trying so hard to believe that we are getting out here and I need you there with me," he begged her.

He knew if she lost all hope in them escaping that he would too, and it was completely destroying him inside that he was so worthless in here to her... to his family. He hadn't felt so worthless since those dark days he lived so long ago.

Ginny shook her head at his request. "I can't, I can't do it anymore... this is all my fault... I just wanted our kids to be safe... I wanted Scorpius out Azkaban. I messed up... everything is my fault." she cried.

He pulled her to his chest, his fingers embedding themselves into her fiery mane as he kissed the top of her head. He could feel Ginny's wet tears through his shirt and it triggered the ones that were threatening to fall from his eyes.

They all turned to the door once more as a small group of people made their way inside. It was Jack and Robert Adwell, Crystal, Eve and Minister Beckett, followed by two Aurors. They were in light conversation as they made their way across the room. Both Ginny and Draco wiped their faces and rid their expressions of any emotion.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy... Mr. Potter, good to see you all again," said Beckett. "You all look well enough." He said as his eyes took in Draco's wrist and then Riley's condition. "What is going on there?" he asked Jack Adwell as his eyes continued to study them.

"Mr. Malfoy, unfortunately, broke his wrist during one of the physical tests and Miss Riley here has been recovering still from her injury. The light testing we have done on her seems to be taking a toll and so we have pulled back and decided she needed more time to heal first." Adwell expplained.

"I see," Beckett said as he looked at Draco and then to Ginny. "I am deeply sorry to hear of your father's passing."

A tear slid down Ginny's face as she gave a small nod.

"I'm aware that your children have gone missing. They were all to be summoned for a mandatory evaluation and have decided to run from Aurors instead and have-"

"They ran because Aurors broke into our home and tried to take them by force." Draco sneered.

"You and your family were well aware of the mandatory evaluations. They should have turned themselves in before this all got out of hand."

"Turn themselves in? Why, so they could be used as a lab rat and be injected with all kinds of bullshit. I rather them run so they won't have to endure the same torture we have." Draco growled out.

"Let me shed some light on the situation for you all. Your son, Scorpius, has killed... how many?" Beckett asked the Auror beside him.

"Four."

"Ah, yes, four of my men your son has killed while on the run. Your son, James... he lost control of his powers and killed two more of my men and then there is, of course, your daughter Ember, who killed a man back at the Manor."

"He was going to kill Ava." Riley suddenly cried out.

They all looked at her.

"At the Manor... the man threatened to hurt Ava... that's why Ember killed him and it wasn't even intentional, she-"

Beckett held his hand up to stop her. "Enough, this entire thing has gotten out of control and I've had enough." he turned to Jack Adwell. "I expect the serum you have been working on is almost ready?"

"Of course Minister."

"And have you chosen a candidate for the test run?"

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy is ideally the best choice since she already possesses two different powers."

Ginny could feel Draco and Harry's eyes on her and she knew Draco could tell she wasn't surprised by the news. She watched Robert Adwell's eyes look her over, a concerned expression was on his face.

Beckett seemed to be thinking on something for a few moments before he turned back to Jack Adwell. "Mr. Adwell, let me just remind you of our terms. It was agreed that the Malfoy and Potter children all undergo a mandatory evaluation and after they would be released. Riley, is it?" He asked her and received a small nod. "Young Riley here has undergone a full evaluation and even multiple tests and nothing has been found. I would like for you to release her into the care of another family member."

"But, Sir-"

"There is nothing more you need from the poor girl so I will expect you to release her to her family by the end of the day, understood?"

Adwell looked highly irritated by Beckett's request but nodded.

"Also, since Ginny Malfoy is the candidate you'll be using and you've collected more than enough samples from Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, there is no reason for them to remain here. I'm sure if you need more they will oblige per the agreement you made with them."

"I don't feel comfortable releasing them quite yet-"

"Let's make something clear Mr. Adwell, you wanted to obtain their powers and you have, there is nothing more you require from them. If it's that you want them here for your own personal use then that needs to be their choice."

"But our agreement states-"

"I know what agreement you made with them, but let's not forget that technically there is no agreement since your son is alive, isn't that right?"

Mr. Adwell's eyes went wide when he realized Beckett knew Noah to be alive. "Yes, Sir."

"Very good. I look forward to hearing feedback on how she reacts to the serum." Mr. Beckett said before he turned to leave as Jack Adwell and Crystal escorted him out.

As soon as they left Draco turned to Ginny. "I won't go anywhere without you."

"Do you really think Adwell will let you guys go?" Ginny asked.

"No.," said Robert Adwell before he walked closer to the wall between them. "Beckett may have said that, but if I know my brother well enough, he won't follow Beckett's orders."

"I'm surprised Beckett even said to release us in the first place," Harry said.

"That's the thing with Beckett, once he gets what he wants, which he probably will, he goes back to following the rules. So keeping a Malfoy and a Potter locked up at Adwell Labs isn't sitting well with many people at the Ministry and he doesn't want things to get any uglier."

"How many days until this serum they're talking about is ready?" Draco asked.

"It will probably be another few days or so," Eve spoke up.

Robert looked at the three of them behind that glass wall, his expression was unreadable. "I know these words mean nothing to you, but I'm sorry to see you all in this position. I must be going now, I will be back when the serum is complete... until then, good luck," he said before he left with one of the two Aurors escorting him out.

The other Auror walked up to Draco and looked at him. "My name is Matthew." he simply said.

Draco just looked at him with a slight sneer. "Ok and I care why?"

He didn't say anything, he just turned and looked at Eve, her eyes were locked on his for a moment.

Matthew just took a few steps back and looked at Draco once more. "Just thought I'd let you know," he said before he turned to leave, he locked eyes with Eve and he watched them grow wide as she stared at him. "Eve." he nodded before he walked out of the room.

She just stood there staring after him, a surprised look covered her face.

"What was that about?" Draco asked her.

She looked at him, her mind still stuck on Matthew. "Nothing, I don't know."

"You don't know? Like you didn't just read his mind and find out something you shouldn't have." Draco stated.

He could see she still had a confused look on her face. "He knew I was reading it though... and it's what he offered me," she whispered before she took a seat, overwhelmed by her encounter with Matthew.

"And what was that?"

A tear slid down her face and she quickly wiped it away. "Freedom... a way out."

"I don't understand, you can leave here... can't you?" he asked her. Draco never really thought about Eve's life outside of the lab or if there even was one.

She rolled up her pant leg to reveal a tight metal bracelet around her ankle. "This will notify my father as soon as I go anywhere above the second floor towards the entrance." She pulled back her long ponytail and pulled her earlobe forward a bit to reveal a slightly raised surface on her skin. "This implant will start to send electrical shockwaves to my brain if I go past a certain point and if I ever manage to actually reach the surface... it will completely fry my brain and kill me."

"I don't understand, I thought you had a life outside of here before your father experimented on you and your mother?" Ginny asked.

Eve shook her head. "No, I was born for the sole purpose to be experimented on... I've been here since I was born. Maybe I could count the few times I felt fresh air or have been outside these walls, but my father keeps a close eye on me. Crystal was roped into helping my father and Noah was the kid to make things seem normal outside of here, for my mother's sake, until she died of course."

"Eve!"

She quickly turned at the sound of her name.

"What are you doing? Come on, Father wants you." Crystal said from the doorway.

Eve gave Ginny and Draco one last glance before she wiped her face again and quickly left the room.

* * *

She gave a soft knock on Scorpius' bedroom door and waited for a response. After a few moments, she knocked once more and was about to enter when she heard nothing again until the door finally opened.

"Hey," he mumbled before he walked back over and threw himself back on his bed.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked as she closed the door and sat on the side of the bed. "You didn't come down for dinner."

He rubbed his face roughly before he looked at her. "What do you think is wrong? Your father hates me."

"He doesn't hate you, he just hates that I'm with you."

"Same thing."

"Not really, I think he would hate whoever I was with," she said with a small smile. She watched him for a moment and her smile faded. "You're really bothered by this?"

"Of course I am. He enjoyed kicking my arse today a little too much. Then he said, "I guess you win" what the hell does that mean?"

Raven just shook her head. "We had an argument before he agreed to come with me to help find you. I basically told him I chose you over him," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

"No wonder why he wanted to practically kill me out there," he said, sitting up and looking at her. "Raven, I don't want to come between you and your dad, I know how much you mean to him."

"He will be fine, he will come around, just give him some time."

He stood up and paced a bit before he stopped to look at her. His relationship with Raven had always been a struggle right from the beginning. They had kept their relationship a secret for a while before she finally told her father about it. Then the whole pregnancy scare and now here they were in hiding along with her father who did not want her being with him. It was a lot right now for him to take in.

"We need to just put everything on hold right now." he said.

"Oh, here we go again with this. Are you kidding me Scorpius? You do realize I risked my life and my relationship with my father for you." she fumed as she stood up and took a step closer to him.

"Of course I do and I love you for that. I'm not saying to break up, I'm not saying anything like that. What I am saying, is that my priority right now is to save my parents and I don't need the distraction of the drama between your dad and me to interfere with that. Do you understand?" he said as he gently grabbed her shoulders.

She backed away from his touch. "I can't believe this," she said, shaking her head at him. "I can't believe you." she spat before she ripped his door open and left his room.

He threw himself back on his bed and let out a loud groan. "Well, Scorpius, you may be intelligent, but you don't know a fuckin thing when it comes to relationships," he said to himself.

"Girl trouble?" Came Ron's voice from the doorway before he made his way into the room.

Scorpius just shook his head. "I honestly don't even know what to think anymore... or what to say for that matter."

Ron took a seat next to him and gave a hard sigh. "Listen, Blaise just probably feels that way towards you because you're a Malfoy. He remembers your dad from their Hogwarts days, from Voldemorts time. Back then... your father was a bloody git, but Blaise never really thought that highly of Draco back then anyway. Then, with Lucius being a Death Eater and your father basically being forced into the same life... he just can't see past all that."

"I don't understand, Dad is the same way when it comes to Ember and Aurora, but he came around with Jake dating Ember, even with the history of his family. He has somewhat even accepted the James and Aurora thing." Scorpius explained.

"Blaise was always very vain, he looked down on everyone including his own housemates. He was always the kind of guy that you could never please. He even have a thing for your mum, but he would never even think on it because we were blood traitors in his eyes. So see, it doesn't matter, honestly... you'll probably never please him and he will never be ok with you dating his daughter."

"I'm sorry, was this conversation suppose to make me feel better? Because you completely failed at that."

Ron just gave a small chuckle before he slapped him on the back. "Sorry, bud... I was never good at these sorts of things," he said before he left his bedroom.

Scorpius just shook his head once more in annoyance and buried his face into his pillow, letting out a loud growl of frustration.

 **A/N: So what did you think? Your thoughts on the the first day of practice? The way Blaise reacted to Scorpius? What about Eve and the other background into her life? So many other things to discuss, please share your thoughts with me!**

 **Also, be sure to check out my Facebook fanfiction page where I post updates and chapter previews of the story or just talk my fics up. The link can be found on my profile page. Thanks for reading guys!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you to all my loyal readers who are always commenting and continue to enjoy my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.**

Scorpius shifted in his bed and let out a light sigh as he realized something was interrupting his sleep. He felt a small poke to his arm and then a small shake. He soon realized the something that was waking him up was a someone rather. He chose to ignore it until the shaking became more aggressive.

"Scorpius, wake up," Ellie called to him.

Scorpius' eyes snapped open and he turned to look at her and then at the clock that read seven thirty. "Why the hell do you people insist on waking me up at this time?" he whined before burying his face in his pillow again.

"I need to show you something," she said.

After noticing that she wasn't going to be going away anytime soon, he turned over and sat up in his bed.

"What is it that you must show me that you couldn't possibly wait until at least noon for?"

"Ok, don't freak out, though," she warned him before he noticed she was holding a knife in her other hand.

She held out her palm in front of her and lifted the knife over it before she was about to plunge it straight through her hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Scorpius shouted as he grabbed her wrist before she thrust it through herself.

She ripped her hand free from his grip. "I told you not to freak out... trust me," she said.

Scorpius just stared at her for a moment before he watched her bring the knife up once more and then stab it through her hand. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw her hand turn to water before the knife could do any damage to her.

"Neat, huh?" she said with a smile.

"That's insane, when exactly have you been practicing?"

"In my room all night." she shrugged.

"You should practice with us out on the field," he suggested.

She didn't say anything.

"What's wrong?"

"I just... I keep thinking about the birthday party... how many people got hurt... how many people almost died. I don't want to hurt any of you guys."

He was quiet for a moment as he listened to her reasoning. "I get it, but you know that practicing will help you better control them and it will definitely help when we finally go break Mum and Dad out of that place. When I attacked Noah... I didn't want to use my powers anymore, I couldn't believe that I was capable of doing something so... evil. After a while, I realized that my powers weren't going away and they were a part of who I am. I just need to learn to control them and understand them and that's what you need to do too."

She finally nodded as his words seemed to make sense. They both turned towards the window at the sound of a giant crack of lightning.

"What the hell was that?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, that's James and Ember, they got up earlier and are practicing."

Scorpius went to look out the window when a bolt of lightning hit the glass and busted it to pieces.

"Sorry!" James' voice echoed from down below.

"Dammit Potter, what the fuck!" Scorpius yelled as he uncovered his face and Ellie's body with his, letting the pieces of glass that covered them fall to the floor.

"I guess I should let you get back to sleep," Ellie said with a small giggle before she got up and left his room.

"Back to sleep! I'm awake now!"

* * *

Eve walked into the lab the next day with nothing but her encounter with Matthew on her mind. She wasn't even sure why she was thinking about it so much, there was no way she would ever be able to leave this place. She wasn't even sure if this Matthew guy was serious about getting her out.

She unlocked Draco's room and walked over to where he was sitting on the couch flipping through a book he had read more times than he could count. He threw it down before he looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Your wrist," she said.

He scooted over so she could take a seat and held his arm out for her. She unwrapped it and studied it for a bit until Draco realized she was lost in her thoughts again.

"You're thinking about that Matthew guy, aren't you?"

She gave a silent scoff before she looked up at him. "I guess you don't need powers for that one, huh?"

"How old are you Eve?"

She sighed. "Nineteen."

"Why haven't you ever tried to escape?" he asked her.

"Escape to what exactly? I have no life outside of here... there is nothing for me out there. I've never even been inside my own home. Well... I guess technically this is my home." she sighed.

"That's horrible." came Ginny's voice from her room.

Eve turned to look at her for a moment. "That Auror... Matthew... I think he knows something about your kids."

"Like what?" Harry asked, his interest spiking when he overheard her comment.

"I don't know, he wasn't thinking about that particular thing, just what he mentally asked me, but I felt it... I felt like he knew more than we know."

She shook her head as she tried to shake the entire thing from her mind.

"Go like this," she said to Draco as she showed him a certain way to move his hand and wrist.

He mimicked her gesture before she took his hand and felt a few different spots on it before she stopped and just held his wrist in her hand. She just stared down at his still slightly bruised skin before a frown formed on her face.

"Eve?"

She looked up at him. "Sorry, my mind is wandering again."

"Eve, hurry up and finish with Mr. Malfoy. I need you for Mrs. Malfoy's procedure." came Crystal's voice as she walked into the room.

Eve quickly bandaged up Draco's hand before she walked back out of his room and locked it. "Procedure?" she asked her sister. "I thought that wasn't until tomorrow?"

"Yes, well the serum will be ready sooner than expected and Father doesn't want the pregnancy to interfere with how she reacts to it." Crystal said as she unlocked Ginny's room.

Ginny backed up against the wall between her and Draco before she turned to look at him. Her face was covered in fear, her eyes spilling silent tears as she thought about the child inside her.

"Please don't do this," Draco begged Crystal as she walked into her room.

"Beg all you want, I may understand, but my father doesn't care," she said grabbing Ginny by the wrist.

"No, please don't." she cried as she pulled her hand back.

Crystal grabbed her again, this time binding her hands so she wouldn't pull away, but Ginny wasn't going without a fight. She pulled back as hard as she could until she was practically on the floor. Her feet were firmly planted on the floor in an attempt to keep Crystal from dragging her.

"Eve, a little help please!" Crystal yelled to her.

Eve was frozen, she didn't want to hurt Ginny or any of them, but she also knew the consequences of not obeying her father.

Crystal's hand and arm turned to solid metal and her grip on Ginny tightened as she gave a hard tug and Ginny slid forward as she dragged her across the room.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! STOP!" Ginny screamed as she continued to be dragged from the room.

"Eve! Give me a sedative!" Crystal yelled before turning back to Ginny.

Ginny's screams echoed throughout the room and Eve was still frozen. She watched everything in slow motion it seemed, Ginny's heartbreaking cries, Draco's desperate pleas to Crystal not to go through with it... and Crystal, screaming at her for help.

"Crystal?" Eve called to her.

"What!" she yelled, turning to her sister.

Eve brought her hands up to each side of Crystal's head, her eyes turning to a deep purple.

Ginny felt Crystal's grip loosen on her until she completely let go of her and she scrambled across the room against the wall to where Draco was.

Eve stopped suddenly and took a few steps back, she had never used her powers on her sister before and she told herself she never would.

Crystal turned back to Ginny and was silent for a moment. "I know this was hard for you... I'm sorry it had to be done," she said before she left the room and locked the door.

Eve watched her leave the lab.

"She thinks she did it already? That she already performed the procedure?" Draco asked her.

Eve turned to them, her eyes glistening with tears before she gave a small nod. The weight of her body seemed to be too much for her legs to hold up right now as she slowly fell to her knees. She covered her mouth to quiet her cries, she betrayed her sister... her father was one thing, but her sister was something different. In her eyes Crystal wasn't a bad person, she just wanted to keep clear from falling victim to being a test subject again. She wanted Eve to stay clear of that life again also which is why she encouraged her to just do what she was told.

"Eve..." Draco wanted to thank her, but he knew how devastated she was by her actions.

She just looked at him once more before she pulled herself up and ran from the room.

* * *

"No, no, no, stop... you're flailing your hands way too much," she growled out in frustration, walking over to him and grabbing his hands roughly. "Like this," she said, positioning his hands just right.

"You're not a very nice teacher... quite aggressive," Scorpius said.

Aurora gave a small laugh. "Well, listen the first time."

"It doesn't matter how you position my hands, it all comes out the same way." he let out a heavy breath.

"It does matter, you're too sloppy when you use your powers. You wanted me to show you how to tighten them up, so here I am." She stood beside him and looked across the field at the back porch. "Ok, here we go... look at Rose just sitting there enjoying her book. You see that glass of lemonade next to her on the steps?"

"You want me to hit that?"

"No, I want you to freeze it, if you keep shooting your powers out all barbaric-like then they will destroy everything in its path. If you handle them with a bit of grace, then you should be able to freeze that glass from all the way over here without exploding it into bits and pieces." she snapped.

"Ok, ok, chill," he said as he took his position.

He held one of his hands up and instead of letting the powers flow from his palm he let them trickle from his fingers. The thin stream flowed out just like Aurora showed him as he watched it slowly creep towards the glass on the steps. His eyes glanced over to the kitchen window where he noticed Raven watching him and he lost his focus. The thin stream of ice formed faster and wider and hit the cup beside Rose and caused it to burst into pieces, making lemonade splash all over her and her book.

"WHAT THE HELL YOU GUYS!" she screamed from the porch.

They both busted out laughing as she stormed into the house before Scorpius felt Aurora staring at him.

"You lost focus."

He let out a hard sigh and rubbed his face before he looked back at the window to see Raven walk away. "Yeah... I know," he mumbled before he took a seat in the grass.

"What's going on?" she said, taking a seat beside him.

He just shook his head as he ripped a few pieces of grass from the ground and tossed it aside. "It's nothing."

"Oh, I see... because I'm not Ember I guess you can't tell me anything." she snapped.

"What the hell does that mean?" They locked eyes, Aurora's piercing into his until he finally gave in and shook his head. "Just... shit with Raven and Blaise... Raven thinks I broke up with her last night."

"Did you?"

"No!" he quickly snapped. "Well, I don't think so. I just told her we needed to put things on hold."

"Why? Because of Blaise?"

"Yes, because of Blaise... I mean... it's too much to constantly have to deal with that drama when I'm trying to focus on practicing and developing my powers. I don't want anything distracting me from doing everything I can to save Mum and Dad."

She was quiet for a few moments as she thought about his reasoning. "I get it... but can I ask you something?"

He looked at her.

"Are you sure you're even in love with Raven?"

"What! Of course, I am!" he shouted, sounding offended that she would even ask such a thing.

"Relax, I'm just asking."

"Are you sure you love James?" he asked her back.

"Yes," she answered quickly and confidently, a look of surprise covered her face as she realized she just admitted that in front of him.

"Calm down, it's plain as day so it's hardly a shocker." he teased her.

She gave him a small smile.

"But are you really sure you love him?" he asked her.

"Of course."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Well, for starters, I wouldn't care and I don't care if Dad likes James or not or wants me dating him. I love who I love and nobody will tell me who that should and shouldn't be," she said firmly. "If you love Raven that much, then Blaise's opinion shouldn't matter and you shouldn't stress over it."

He was quiet as he just took in her words.

"But let me ask you something else," she said as he looked back up at her. "Are you sure that really love her or do you feel obligated to continue loving her because of Blaise and now you're afraid to end things with her?"

He seemed to stiffen up at her question before he ran both hands through his hair and hung his head for a moment.

"Ugh! I really hate you right now," he growled out.

"I'm just saying... I'm sure you love her, you guys have been through a lot together, but what if you're not in love with her still?"

"No, I love her, a lot. I'm crazy about her, honestly... I'm sure of it." he said, his tone decisive.

Aurora raised an eyebrow at him before she gave him a small nod.

* * *

Ginny was laying on the couch in her room with her hand on her stomach, her mind still on the events from earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut at how close she was to losing her baby... how it could still end up that way. She sat up and looked over at Draco, who was pacing his room completely lost in his thoughts.

"Draco?" she softly called to him.

Her voice made him look over to her as she approached the wall and took a seat facing him as he joined her.

"Hey... are you ok?"

She nodded. "I need you to try and help me with something," she said as she looked down at her fidgeting hands.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows at her comment. "Of course, but what could I possibly help you with from in here?"

She looked back up at him. "The last test that Crystal had me do... I lost control of my powers."

"Ok, how can I help with that?" he asked, sounding confused.

"It wasn't my fire powers... it was yours," she said quietly looking down at the ground.

"Oh." was all he could manage to say.

"They just took over, I couldn't overpower it with my powers and it kind of scared me. I felt a bit lost without my powers."

He wasn't sure what to say. "You want me to tell you how to control it?"

She smirked at his comment and then scoffed a bit at what she was asking him. "I know... it's impossible. I thought you might have a secret... I'm just not used to them."

He studied the uncertainty on her face. "Believe me, Ginny, I don't think any power you have will truly ever take the place of that blazing inferno that burns within you," he said with a smile. "Fire always wins in the end."

She gave a small laugh before her smile faded. "Crystal said this serum has six different powers."

"Six? That's going to kill you." he softly stated, more to himself than anything.

She looked at him, the fear in her eyes made him want to latch onto her and keep her safe.

"I know." she shrugged before she stood up again.

"Ginny, please don't give up... please." he pleaded with her.

It was like she was accepting her fate and he wouldn't allow it. He knew he couldn't do a damn thing from inside this room, but if he could convince Adwell to use the serum on him instead, then Ginny would be safe.

There was a loud bang from outside of the room suddenly and what sounded like shouting. All three of them jumped when something or someone started banging on the door and was trying to get in.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Harry said.

The door suddenly slammed open and someone fell to the floor but quickly pulled themselves back up and closed it. They pushed the metal cabinet closer to the door to block it before they finally turned to take in their surroundings.

"Mr. Malfoy?" said a voice... a voice filled with fear and panic.

It wasn't until the person came closer that Draco's eyes went wide. "Noah?"

He ran up to the rooms they were all locked up in. His face was still badly bruised and bandaged from the damage Scorpius had done to him. But it wasn't the bruising or bandages that were alarming to Draco, it was the fear and panic that filled Noah. His body was trembling, his skin pale and clammy and his eyes sunken in. He had an IV in his arm that looked like he had pulled out and a large incision on the side his head that was also bandaged.

"Please help me, you have to help me," he begged them as he banged on the glass.

They were all taken aback by the state he was in to even respond, but eventually, they snapped out of it.

"Each room has it's own key card, they are over there near the door." Ginny quickly told him.

Noah quickly turned and ran over to the door even with his injured leg and ripped them all from the wall as he scrambled back over to them. Someone was trying to get into the room as banging and yelling echoed outside in the hall and a loud alarm went off.

Noah's hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold on to the key cards. He suddenly stopped and fell to his knees and just fell into a fit of sobs. He was paralyzed by fear.

"Noah? Focus, come on." Draco said to him as he put aside the history between Ember and him and just saw a young man being experimented on and tortured by his own father.

Noah gave a quick nod as he mustered up some courage and quickly swiped the card to Draco's room and heard the door unlock. Draco wasted no time in grabbing the key cards from Noah and opening Ginny and Harry's room. He barely had time to plan his next move when the door was blasted open, the metal cabinet flying across the room.

"Noah!" Mr. Adwell called out to him as the room filled with Aurors and workers from the lab.

Noah grabbed Draco's shirt tightly. "Please don't let them take me!" he yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry about Ember, I'm sorry for all the stupid shit I did, just please... help me." he choked out as he shook with terror.

Draco couldn't even speak, just like with Ginny he felt completely helpless and had no idea what to say to the young kid before him.

"The three of you... back in your rooms now," Adwell ordered.

Draco wanted to go after him so badly, but without his powers and with how many men were in the room, he would be lucky if he could take one step before being attacked.

Before he could even decide on what move to make, he was already being detained and thrown back into his room along with Ginny and Harry. He watched Noah fight against the men trying to drag him back out until he was being held down on the ground with more force than needed.

"Father, please let me go... please stop," he begged him as Adwell walked over to his son and squatted down beside him.

"You use to be more useful to me, but now... you're just another experiment," he said before he stuck a syringe in Noah's neck that made his entire body relax and almost become paralyzed.

His eyes became dilated and his mind went into a twilight before they finally closed and he fell limp.

* * *

Ember stood in the doorway for a moment as she just took in the sleeping form of her baby sister. She offered to put her down for a nap for her grandmother after she could tell she was not herself today. Molly had good days and bad days, but even the good ones were forced half the time. Not only did she lose her husband, but her daughter and two men who were like sons to her were in danger. Then, of course, poor Riley, not knowing if she was alive or dead was something even Ember couldn't think about without tearing up.

She gave one last smile at Ava before she closed the door and made her way down the hall.

"Oh good, Ember, just the person I was looking for," said Rose as she came walking up to her with a bright smile.

"Me? What could you possibly want from me?" Ember asked, leaning against the wall in the hall.

"I was curious, are you and that Jake guy a thing?" she asked, biting her lip.

Ember wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh, why?"

"Well, he's really cute and I was kind of interested."

Ember wasn't sure why she felt enraged at her cousin for asking a simple question, especially when technically, she and Jake weren't officially in a relationship.

"Is something wrong? If you guys are together, then I'm so sorry to have even-"

"We're not!" she snapped.

"Oh, well then do you mind-"

"Don't waste your time, he's gay," she said before she pushed herself off the wall and stormed down the hall.

"Gay?" Rose called after her. "Are you sure?"

Before Ember descended the stairs, she turned back to her and nodded confidently. "Oh, yeah, definitely. That's why it didn't work out, he was more into Scorpius than me."

She saw the disappointed look her cousin had before she walked downstairs with a triumphant grin across her face. She was on her way to the kitchen when she overheard people talking in the living room, making her stop to take a quick listen.

"... I already told you how I feel."

"Well, that's not good enough Scorpius, I want you to choose right now what you want."

"That's not going to happen and why do I have to choose at all?"

"So I don't deserve an answer?"

"I gave you a damn answer the other night, but apparently instead of actually listening to one fuckin thing I said and maybe try to understand the words I was speaking, you chose to hear whatever the fuck your psycho mind decided it wanted to hear and only heard that I want to break up with you. The one thing I specifically told you I wasn't doing, but yet here you are acting as if I did." Scorpius explained, his tone was full of anger and frustration.

"You might as well have." Raven snapped. "I don't know why I'm surprised really, I should have known what to expect with you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I never thought I was pregnant, I knew I wasn't. I only told you I might be to see how you would respond to the possibility of me being pregnant."

Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing and he was unaware of the shocked expression on Ember's face out in the hall.

"What did you just say?" he asked her again, this time his tone was calm but deadly.

"Yeah, I made it up... by the way, your reaction was total bullshit and cowardly. I guess you do take after your father, at least from what my dad tells me."

It took everything in Ember not to walk up to Raven and deck her in the face. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Raven was a bit mental sometimes when Scorpius would tell her about some of the arguments they would get into, but this was something she never thought she'd hear from Raven's mouth.

"You made me believe that I almost got you pregnant when you knew full well that you weren't?" he asked her, his tone was full of rage. "You know how scared I was... how scared I thought we both were, but it was just an act?" he asked, his voice dripped with venom.

Tears suddenly came to Raven's eyes when she heard him say it out loud. She felt ashamed and started to cry. "I'm sorry Scorpius... I don't know what I was thinking... I-"

"Don't you dare stand there and fuckin cry. How dare you! Are you insane? What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that to me?" he fumed.

He sounded so angry that Ember thought he would hit her, but she knew her brother well enough to know he would never lay a hand on a woman.

"I just wanted to see how committed you were to me. You know how my father is about me dating so I wanted to make sure you would stick by my side through anything."

"If you were pregnant, I would have been." he hissed through clenched teeth.

She took a step towards him, but he took one away from her. "Don't... don't you even try to apologize. I just need to get away from you right now," he said before he quickly left the room, not even noticing Ember standing outside in the hallway.

Raven walked out after him and turned to see Ember looking at her. Ember just shook her head before she took a closer step towards Raven until her face was only a few inches away.

"The last thing that my father and brother are... is a coward. Don't you ever insult my family again or I will literally light a fire under your arse." Ember spat as she gave her a deadly glare.

* * *

Ginny swallowed the potion that Eve had given her to help speed up the healing process for the burn on her leg. She watched her in silence as she re-bandaged Ginny's leg.

"Eve?" Draco called to her. "What happened to Noah?" he asked.

She didn't look up, she just kept her head down; Ginny could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Thank you... for what you did for us," Ginny said, placing her hand on Eve's.

Eve just looked at her hand on hers for a moment before she looked up at Ginny; she could tell Eve wasn't used to this kind of contact with people... to this sort of kindness.

"Don't thank me, it's only a matter of time before they find out..." she trailed off as she looked away again.

She finished up with Ginny's leg and left her room. She entered some data into one of the computers and tried to ignore Draco's earlier question about Noah. As much as she tried, her tears spilled over and down her face. Noah was a spoiled, self-centered git, but he was still her brother. She didn't have a close relationship with either of her siblings from living her entire life in this lab, but the little bit of a relationship she did have with them meant a great deal.

"I wish your son would have killed my brother... because it would have been better than what my father is doing to him." she choked out as she turned to face them.

Draco had to admit it was hard to see Noah in such a state. He knew what it was like to be raised to follow in your father's footsteps, for a life to be planned out for you already. He wasn't trying to make excuses for him, what he did to Ember and how he treated her was something he would never forget. At the end of the day, though, Noah was just some rich kid who was brought up in all the wrong ways. Even when he looked at Eve his heart hurt for her, she was only a year older than Scorpius and Ember... she was just a kid practically. Hearing her story and seeing the horror both her and Noah have gone through was gut-wrenching.

"Eve!"

Everyone turned to Crystal who came running into the room, panic was set on her face as she ran up to her sister.

"What's wrong?" Eve asked.

"Eve... listen to me," she said, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "I know what you did... I know you stopped me... and Father knows."

Eve felt her stomach drop.

"You need to get out of here now!" Crystal said loudly.

"But-I-how?" Eve stuttered as she tried to take in what her sister was telling her.

She felt the metal bracelet that she wore every day around her ankle come undone and fall to the floor as Crystal mumbled a quick spell to override it.

"Why do I have to leave?" Eve asked, her voice shaky.

Crystal grabbed her face tightly in her hands. "You don't understand, he knows everything... he knows you were the one who sent a tip to Beckett about them," she said nodding to Draco, Ginny, and Harry. "He knows you've been helping them."

Eve's eyes locked with Draco's at the mention of her sending anonymous information to Beckett about the way they were being treated.

"I won't let you end up downstairs... not like all of them."

"What's downstairs?" Harry asked.

Crystal gave him a quick glance before she walked over to the computer and pulled up one of the cameras to a room downstairs. She waved her wand to project the screen so they could see it better. It was a room filled with rows and rows of beds with people in them. They were hooked up to all types of machines and wires, most of them looked disfigured or near death as if they had been wasting away for quite some time.

"This is where my father stores all his test subjects... all his failed experiments... like they're just files... pieces of paper. They are all just constantly sedated and put into a vegetative state until he thinks they might be of use again." Crystal explained. "Some of them have powers that he forced into them but they didn't respond well to having or controlling them and this is where they ended up."

"That's insane, does Beckett know about this?" Draco asked.

Crystal looked at him. "Beckett was found dead this morning in his office."

"What!" they all shouted out.

She turned back to Eve. "This is why you need to get out of here."

"Is Noah down there?" Ginny asked. "Is that where your father sent him?"

"No, not yet, but he will be and so will you if you don't leave," Crystal ordered, looking at Eve. Crystal's eyes traveled over Eve's shoulder over to the monitor behind her."Shit, he's here... I thought he would still be at the Ministry." she said as she watched her father making his way down towards them.

Crystal grabbed the metal bracelet that was around Eve's ankle and stuck it in Eve's pant pocket. "Keep this on you for now. Eve, look at me!" she said as she grabbed her sister firmly again. "Listen to everything I tell you right now."

Eve was terrified, she witnessed some horrid things in this lab and had always hoped she would never endure any of them.

"You will be put under the same twilight state Noah is, but because of your type of powers, you'll be able to snap out of it faster than a normal person. You'll be in a holding room and Noah should be there still. Father keeps you there for at least a day for observation before he'll send you down into a permanent sedative state. You will only have a small window to grab Noah and get the hell out here. Do you understand?"

Eve quickly nodded, tears sliding down her face.

The door flung open and Aurors and guards flooded the room followed by Adwell.

"You!" he hissed, his eyes piercing into Eve's. "You have done nothing but jeopardize my work... everything I have worked so long and hard to achieve!" he yelled, hitting her with the Cruciatus Curse.

Eve fell was brought to her knees as excruciating pain ran through her body. She released this deafening scream that ripped through Draco, Ginny, and Harry's hearts. They were well aware of who Eve was and what her father has done, but they also knew the sad and lonely life she was forced to live. Had she ever felt love? Does she even know what friendship is? Any type of affection had never been shown to her and then to be born with no purpose other than to be an experiment was just heartbreaking.

Seeing anyone endure the Cruciatus curse was always hard for Draco because he knew the pain behind it most of all from his past. Now to see Eve, still, a kid in his eyes going through it made him cringe and filled him with even more hate and anger for Adwell than he ever felt before.

"Stop!" Draco yelled.

The curse was lifted finally as Adwell walked closer to Eve. "You are nothing more than a problem... a very big problem that must come to an end," he said calmly to her, yet his tone deadly. He turned to Draco. "I bet you thought she would get you out of here?" he laughed. "She can barely think for herself so sneaking you all out of here without my knowledge would be a stretch." he laughed louder before he looked back down at his daughter.

He squatted beside her and grabbed her face to look up at him. "You just couldn't keep following orders, could you? You are so much more powerful than you think. There are parts of your powers you haven't even explored yet, which is why it kills me to have to put an end to you," he said with a genuine sigh before he got back up and put her under the Cruciatus curse once more.

This time only a small scream escaped her mouth before she stopped screaming altogether. The walls to the room started to shake around them and then every single item in the room started to lift off the floor and float up.

Eve pulled herself up on shaky legs, her eyes turned to that deep purple Draco had seen a few times. Before her powers could get any stronger Adwell hit her with a disabling charm and a neck device was placed on her. Everything in the room fell to the floor with a hard crash, forcing everyone to shield themselves from anything that might fall on them.

Adwell's men had her pinned to the ground with more force than needed, her eyes traveling over to Draco as she felt them inject her with the same thing they did to Noah.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help y-you," she whispered out before her eyes fell closed and was dragged from the room.

* * *

"Knock, knock." Ember said softly as she opened the door to her brother's room.

"I don't want to talk about it." he groaned out.

"Well, what about dinner? Do you want dinner?"

"No." he snapped before he sat up on his bed.

"I wish I knew what to say... I didn't think Raven was like that."

He turned to look at her as she took a seat beside him. "I'm trying to justify her actions in my head so that I can be ok with it. I know she's never gotten over what happened with her mother, maybe that's why she-"

"No." Ember cut him off. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't excuse her actions."

"So what do I do?" he asked her.

"Well, I think you need to stick to what you told her yesterday and put things on hold. Focus on helping Mum and Dad and then come back to your relationship with Raven."

They were interrupted by a hard knock on the opened bedroom door by Jake.

"How come you told your cousin I was gay?" he asked Ember, not caring who was present to hear him.

Ember's eyes went wide and she felt Scorpius' body beside her start to shake with laughter as she elbowed him hard. "I don't know what you're talking about." she lied.

"Really?" he asked, taking a step inside the bedroom. "Because she just gave me advice and it started out with Scorpius being way too good for me and beyond one's depth or whatever, so I need to look elsewhere."

"Aww, how sweet. Remind me to thank Rose for-"

"Shut up Scorpius!" Ember yelled at him through clenched teeth before she got up. "Can we continue this conversation in another room, please?" she said as she led him to her bedroom and closed the door.

"What's going on Ember?"

"I only told her that because she said she kind of like you." she quickly explained.

"Ok, so?"

"So I didn't want her to try anything."

"Why not? We aren't together, remember?" he reminded her, his tone a little angry.

"Because I don't want you to like her back."

"So you don't want to be with me, but I'm not allowed to be with anyone else either?"

"Why? Do you want to be?" she snapped.

"No!" he yelled.

"Well, why not?"

"Because I love you!"

They both fell silent, her eyes completely locked on him.

"I mean... I like you a lot." he corrected himself, the last thing he wanted to do was freak Ember out.

"Is that really what you mean?"

"Maybe," he mumbled. They both fell silent again before he walked over to her. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

She looked up at him, her back against the wall as his body came closer. "I think I might love you too," she said without thinking. "I mean... I think I really like you a lot."

He smirked. "Is that really what you mean?" he asked her, his face only inches from hers.

"Maybe," she whispered before he pushed his lips against hers.

She felt his body firmly against hers as she was pinned to the wall by his lips. She didn't mind it and she didn't care about any feelings she was fighting when it came to her relationship with Jake except for the ones she was feeling right now. She felt the slightest bit more confident than their last intimate encounter together as she let her hands travel under his shirt and slip it off of him. Her fingers traced the numerous scars that covered his back and chest before they slid under his waistband.

All her confidence disappeared when he practically ripped her shirt off and started to unclasp her bra. This was only her second time being intimate with someone and she thought because it was the same person she would feel more relaxed, but she still felt nervous. As if her thoughts were being displayed for Jake to read, he picked up on her hesitation and softened his kisses and brought his hands back up to her face where he gently cupped it.

She felt her heart start to race at his touch, the way he could read her without her even saying a word, drove her crazy and it helped build that confidence again. She reached behind her back and unclasped the rest of her bra before her bare chest was exposed. His lips traveled down from her lips to her jawline, then down towards her breast. She let out a soft moan as her fingers grabbed a handful of his hair tightly. He unbuttoned her pants with one hand and pulled them down before he undid his own. He picked her up, one of his hands firmly gripping her thigh and the other around her waist pulling her closer to him.

He spun her around in his arms and placed her on the bed, his body covering hers in a moment. Their legs and arms were a tangled mess as they explored each other's bodies. The feel of his body on top of hers made her feel safe; the way he touched her made her feel like he would never hurt her. She became more forceful as shockwaves of pleasure ran throughout her body and before she knew it, she flipped him on his back. She stopped suddenly as she looked down at her naked body sitting on top of his, she could feel him beneath begging to feel more of her.

"Ember?" he called to her.

She was the most stunning thing he had ever laid eyes on. The way her body just sat on top of him looking down; her fiery strands laying over her bare chest. Her mercury eyes pierced down into his as she leaned down to kiss him, her copper strands tickling his chest as she pulled back and sat up once more.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

She gave him a small smile before she nodded and then lowered herself onto his throbbing erection. She took in a sharp breath before she relaxed and let it slowly out, Jake's fingers lacing with hers. Once he was inside her it was as if she lost control over everything and crashed her lips onto his again.

He pulled her down harder onto him and from the way she rocked into it and the sounds she made against his ear he knew she was enjoying it. She picked up her pace as her nails dug into him a bit at how pleasurable it was to have him inside her.

She felt him slow down a bit and looked at him.

"Your body is so hot." he breathed out.

"Oh... thank you," she said.

He gave a small laugh. "No, not that... I mean, yes, you are fucking hot as hell, but I mean your body is literally hot... like burning," he explained.

She looked over at the mirror on her dresser and saw her hair turning into a vibrant, glowing orange as flames were ready to whip through it at any moment. She felt her heart drop and went to climb off of him when he stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Wait," he said, looking at her.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said as she made to pull back again.

"You won't... come here," he said softly.

She was hesitant, but the feel of his hands on her body relaxed her and she lay beside him while he climbed back on top of her.

"Do you want to continue?" he asked her.

She covered her face with her hands. "I'm so embarrassed." she groaned out.

"Why? You know in a way it's like a compliment to me... it must feel pretty good if I can ignite a fire from you." he lightly joked, making her giggle. "Besides, I like when things get a little heated." he teased.

She smiled at his comment before he leaned down and kissed her again, letting himself slip inside her once more. This time things were a little slower before they intensified again and they soon reached their climax. He kissed her a few more times before he laid beside her with his arms around her. They just held each other for a few minutes in silence, listening to the other catch their breath.

"So do you really think Scorpius is too good for me?" he asked her.

She turned more towards him and just looked at him with a smile before they both started laughing.

* * *

All she could hear was water around her, at least that's what she thought as she tried to open her eyes. Something inside her told her she had to wake up, but her eyes wouldn't stay open long enough to know why. Everything was muffled, she soon made out a beeping noise beside her, but again, her body was so weak she just wanted to fall asleep again. Her head slowly turned to the side and she saw her brother.

Eve's eyes snapped open suddenly and she jolted up. She was hooked up to so many different machines and she quickly started pulling things from her body. She ripped her IV out and then felt her head where wires were all stuck to her. She started to freak out a bit and pulled them off a handful at a time before she slid off of her bed and onto the floor. Why were her legs so shaky? Why did she feel so weak? She pulled herself up onto the side of Noah's bed and looked him over.

"N-Noah." she choked out, her voice hoarse.

She shook him roughly. "Noah!" she called louder. "Wake up Noah!" she called again, continuing to shake him.

His eyes cracked open a bit to look at her.

She unhooked him from all the machines around him and pulled him up into a sitting position. "Noah, please wake up, I need you to help me," she begged him.

She heard the door open and she scrambled across the floor and reached up to grab a scalpel off one of the trays. She walked over to the next empty bed and hid behind the drawn curtain as someone approached her bed. Just as the person walked past the curtain she swung her hand out in an attempt to attack them, but they caught her arm and pushed her hard against the wall.

"Eve, stop!" the man yelled to her.

After a moment she realized it was Matthew. "You? What are you doing here? What do you want with me?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"I want to get you out of here."

"Why? Why me? Why us?" she asked.

"If I'm being honest, it wasn't part of the original plan, but after knowing a bit more about you... I want to help."

"You know nothing about me!" she shouted at him, anger filling her voice.

"You're right, I don't, but I know enough and I know you are a good person who doesn't deserve this," he said gesturing to the room they were in.

After a moment to take in what he was saying, she looked over at Noah where Matthew walked over to. He pulled out his wand and mumbled a quick spell that made Noah's eyes snap open and his heart start to race.

"Noah?" Eve called to him as she took a step closer.

He looked at her, he was still a bit dazed and confused about his surroundings and where he was, but he knew enough to know Eve was next to him.

"We need to go now," Matthew ordered before he threw one of Noah's arms around his neck and Eve took the other and they dragged him out of the room with him. "Eve, I need to know where Riley is."

She nodded before she quickly led the way through a few halls. She stopped suddenly when a spell flew at her and she quickly took cover. Matthew quickly took both of the guards down before he waved for Eve to follow him and she quickly punched in the passcode to Riley's room.

"Riley! Riley! Wake up!" she yelled as she ran over to her bed. She stopped for a moment and looked her over. "Riley?" Her heart sank at the sight of her, she almost looked dead with how pale she was.

"Eve?" she whispered out as she turned her head.

"Hey, come on, I need you to come with me."

Riley just nodded before she took Eve's hand and slipped out of bed. She didn't take more than two steps before she collapsed to the floor. Matthew scooped her up as Eve threw Noah's arm around her shoulders again and followed him from the room. A loud alarm filled the halls as they ran towards the elevator.

"There's no way we're getting out of here, its way to secure," Eve warned him.

"I have a Portkey, all we need to do is make it to the second floor and it will work. The floors below are charmed so that a Portkey or apparition won't work." Matthew explained.

Eve nodded before she brought her hand up to her nose where she felt wetness.

"You're bleeding."

She fell back against the wall of the elevator and grabbed her head.

"The implant." Noah choked out. "Behind her ear... it needs to come out or it will kill her."

Matthew looked at the floor numbers as the elevator rose to the surface. He grabbed the scalpel from Eve's hand and grabbed her face before he looked behind her ear.

"Sorry about this," he said before he sliced the skin behind her ear.

She let out a loud scream as he felt around for the small device as the pain grew inside her head. He finally felt it and removed it from her neck and threw it aside.

"Are you ok?" he asked her as he saw blood still dripping from her nose.

After a moment she nodded and let Matthew help her back up.

"Hold on to me, we're almost there," he told them as he wrapped his hand around the pocket watch in his pants.

He saw the second-floor number light up as the elevator stopped and before the doors could open, they all felt their feet leave the ground and a hard tug behind their navel.

 **A/N: Alright guys so what did you think? A lot went on in this chapter and I must have some feedback. Let's talk it up guys. What did you think of what Eve did for Draco and Ginny? What about Noah? Your thoughts on Raven and the fight she had with Scorpius? Please review! I'm dying to know what you guys think!**

 **Please be sure to checkout my Facebook page where I post story updates and chapters previews. You can find the link of my profile page.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thank you to my reviewers, they mean so much to me =)**

He splashed some water on his face and then looked at the small burn mark on his arm and then another on his hand. One was from James and the other from Ember during their earlier practice session. His mind had been on other things and he had trouble focusing which was making him more frustrated. All he wanted to do was to train up enough to get his parents out of that place.

He walked out of the bathroom and was making his way downstairs to dinner when Raven walked alongside him.

"Can we talk?" she asked him.

"No." he quickly said, ignoring her completely, not even glancing her way.

"Scorpius, please?" she begged, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Would you just stop for a minute and let me talk to you?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Ok, what? What do you need to say to me? What could you possibly say to me to justify your actions?" he asked her angrily.

She opened her mouth a few times to try and explain, but nothing would come out.

Scorpius just shook his head and went to walk away again.

"I'm sorry!" she said loudly before reaching for his arm once more and turning him back to look at her. "I'm sorry ok? I screwed up and it was horrible to do. I really love you Scorpius and I don't want to lose you." she said, her eyes starting to tear up.

He looked into her green eyes for a moment and studied them a bit; he could tell her apology was genuine. He reached up and wiped a stray tear from her face before he moved his face closer to hers.

"I don't know what you want me to say... my entire opinion of you has changed," he whispered to her before he turned and walked downstairs.

He took a seat at the table next Ember, who leaned in closer to him. "Are you-"

"I'm fine." he cut her off before his eyes shot up to Raven taking a seat at the table a few seats down.

"I'd like for you all to take part in practice tomorrow," McGonagall said, looking at Ellie.

"What about me? I want to help save Mum and Dad." Harper asked.

"Don't you worry dear, I'm sure there are plenty of things we could have you to do help," Molly reassured her.

"But what about my powers? When will I get them?" she asked.

"You might not even get any," Aurora said.

Harper looked disappointed at her comment.

"Well, in addition to just developing your powers, we really should practice some spells and some physical stuff," Hermione explained. "You can help with that Harper," she said with a smile making her cheer up a bit.

The entire table became quiet when there was a knock on the door, making all of them pull out their wands.

"Who the hell is that?" Blaise asked.

"I'm not sure," Hermione answered, walking over to the front door with her wand tightly gripped.

The knock rang out again. "Hermione, it's Matthew." came a muffled voice from behind the door.

She gave a sigh of relief and pocketed her wand before turning to the rest of them in the dining room and gesturing for them to all calm down.

Matthew poked his head inside and met her in the foyer. "I'm sorry to show up without warning."

"Is everything ok? Did you find out anything?" she asked.

"Actually, I have something for you," he said before he opened the front door again and held out his hand for Riley to take as she walked into the house.

Hermione let out an emotional gasp causing the rest of the room to turn her way.

"Riley?" Ember whispered as she got up and walked closer. "Riley!" she cried out once she knew for certain it was her.

She grabbed her tightly and held her close just crying into her sister's chest. She felt her sister pull away a bit and saw her face covered in pain.

"Are you ok?" she asked her, cupping her sister's face as she looked her over.

Riley just looked at her, silent tears spilled down her face at the question. She couldn't believe she was out of that place and back with all her siblings. Her eyes traveled over Ember's shoulder to the rest of them, she felt weird... she felt weak. Her body had endured so much pain as they tried to force her powers out; the memory of what she went through made her spill fresh tears.

"I... I need to lay down." she choked out; the reunion with her family was too much for her to handle right now, mentally and emotionally.

"Of course, Sweetheart, come on dear," Molly said as she gently wrapped her arm around Riley and led her upstairs.

Scorpius walked over to Ember and wrapped her in a tight hug. "She made it," he whispered to her. "You were right."

She looked at him before she looked up at Riley and took in her condition. "Was I?"

"Matthew, thank you so much, I can never repay you for what you've done... for everything you've done for us," Hermione said.

"Of course Hermione, I've worked with Arthur, Harry, and Draco for a long time... I would never turn my back on them," he said.

"Well, thank you again, why don't you join us for dinner?" she offered, making her way back over to the table.

"Actually... I must ask a favor of you... all of you," he said, making her stop and look back at him.

"Of course, anything," she said.

He looked at her and then at McGonagall. "I have someone else who needs to lay low here for a while," he said, some hesitancy in his voice.

They all exchanged a quick look.

"Ok... who?"

He walked back over to the door and held it open and in walked Eve and Noah. The first person both Scorpius and Ember's eyes shot to was Noah and the mixture of emotions between the two of them exploded.

Scorpius wasn't sure why, but he always thought when he saw Noah again, he would feel remorse for almost killing him. Instead, he grew incredibly angry and went to run at him when Matthew held him back with the help of Ron.

Noah took a few steps back in silence, there was nothing he could say, he was well aware of what he had done and he wouldn't blame Scorpius or any of them for wanting to punch him out right now.

"Calm down, come on," Ron whispered to Scorpius as he led him back over to the dining room.

"Eve... Noah, let me talk to Hermione and the others in private." Matthew said to them.

They both nodded and walked over to the staircase and took a seat. Ember gave them one last look, Noah looked a mess, he looked like he was brought back from the dead. She wasn't sure how to feel, Noah had crossed many lines with her and even destroyed her confidence and self-esteem. She turned to Jake, who gave her wrist a small tug and quietly followed him back into the dining room.

Noah watched the doors close while Matthew filled them in on everything that was going down.

"You should have left me there," Noah said softly.

Eve looked at him. "Why?"

He looked up at her with dark circles under his eyes and his skin pale and clammy. "I deserve the torture that Father put me through for the things I said and did."

"Don't say that. Nobody deserves what he is doing."

"What the hell do you know? Do you even have feelings? Do you even know how to have a conversation with a person? You've lived under a rock your whole life." he snapped.

She looked away from him, he was right; she hardly knew how to act around people.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that... I'm just angry... mostly with myself."

She looked at him again and just gave him a small smile.

"Thanks for saving me," he said.

Eve brought her hand up to the device around her neck and studied it a bit with her fingers. She let out a small hiss from the cut behind her ear where the implant was and looked at the blood that ran down her neck and shoulder.

"Are you sure you want that thing off of you?" he asked her.

"Why wouldn't I?"

He just looked at her, the truth was he and Eve never really spoke that much. He only talked to her when he was at the lab with his father a few times. Even when they were both little, Eve was always being experimented on or studied so he hardly got to experience her as a sister. There was also a lot more Eve didn't know about when it came to her powers.

"That implant that was in your neck was also helping to keep your powers under control."

"I don't understand, I have control over my powers."

"Yeah, you did, until Father tried to make them more powerful."

"What are you talking about?"

He let out a hard sigh before he turned to get a better look at her. "It was a while ago, so you probably don't even remember it, plus your brain was almost fried when it happened. When Father started realizing there was a lot more to your powers than just mind reading and moving things, he started with his tests and shit. It was a similar serum to the one he used on Mrs. Malfoy... but your powers went haywire. You were in a coma for almost a month during which he made a new implant that would stabilize your powers... something with how it communicated with your brain. I don't know specifics, I just know that once that neck device comes off and without that implant, your powers might feel ten times stronger." he explained.

Eve just stared at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. Deciding that she didn't want her mind to go to a negative place, she switched the conversation.

"What do you think they are saying behind those doors?"

He scoffed at her question. "I think that we should just wait outside the front door because there's no way they'll let us hide out here."

* * *

"So Beckett is dead? You think Adwell killed him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know if it was him personally, but I know he was behind it. Beckett had ordered Adwell to release Draco, Harry, and Riley because they weren't of any use to him anymore, but of course, Adwell had other plans." Matthew explained.

"How come not Mum?" Ember asked.

"Adwell is planning to use your mother to test out a new serum he created. When administered to her and if successful she'll have not one, two or three different types of powers, but six."

"Six!" Ron said loudly. "That's insane!"

"Hopefully we can get them out of there before that happens. The last time he tested combining three different powers into one person, it killed them... and that was his own wife."

The room grew silent as they all just took in the information Matthew was telling them.

"So tell us more about Eve, she's Adwell's daughter... why did you bring her and Noah here?" McGonagall asked.

Matthew told them all about Eve's past and her life at the lab. He also told them about the numerous experiments both she and Noah had gone through and what their fate would have been had he not brought them here. He told them about her numerous attempts to help Draco and Ginny even though it went against her sister and father.

"After Eve intervened with saving the baby, Adwell flipped out." Matthew finished.

"Baby?" Ember asked.

"Yes, your mother... she's pregnant."

"Bloody hell those two can't stay off of each other," Ron mumbled to Hermione.

Ember and Scorpius exchanged a quick look before a smile spread across both of their faces.

"It better be a boy," Scorpius demanded.

"Oh, I so hope it's a girl just to piss you off." Ember snapped back.

Matthew gave a small chuckle. "Well, no matter what it is the point is that the baby is safe... for now. Adwell wanted to terminate the pregnancy so it wouldn't interfere with the serum, but luckily Eve stepped in. I know this isn't ideal for you all, but nobody deserves what Eve has gone through, not your parents, not Riley... not even Noah. I've seen some horrid things happen there." Matthew said softly.

Silence filled the room before Hermione spoke up. "They can stay here; we owe it to you for helping us and bringing Riley home. If Eve was an ally to Draco and Ginny in there, then we are thankful, no matter whose daughter she is."

After a few moments, the whole table nodded in agreement.

The doors to the dining room opened back up and Noah and Eve both stood up and just looked at Matthew.

"Blaise if you would be so kind as to show Noah up to one of the guest bedrooms," McGonagall said. "And Eve, you can have a seat in the kitchen so we can address your injury." she continued, gesturing towards the kitchen.

Eve watched Noah follow Blaise upstairs before she started walking towards the kitchen; she felt everyone's eyes on her as she made her way past the dining room.

"I need a few minutes." Ember quickly said before she ran upstairs to her bedroom, followed by Jake. Seeing Noah again was a lot to take in.

McGonagall turned to the rest of them and waved her hands for them all to clear out and go to their rooms. "Scorpius, be a dear and fetch some rags and water while I get Molly to assist."

He nodded and made his way into the kitchen, grabbing the supplies and filling up a bowl with warm water. He reached over and turned the faucet off and noticed the silence that filled the room before he turned to look at Eve sitting at the table. She had her head hung deep in thought as he walked over to her and took a seat. She picked her head up a bit to take in the rags and water before she looked down once more.

She felt awkward to be here; she definitely didn't belong and most of all she felt ashamed to have any association with the Adwell name.

"Do you want me to get that thing off of you?" he asked her, nodding to the neck device.

"I don't know how to remove it. There was a spell I knew to override and unlock it, but... it doesn't work on this one." she softly spoke.

"I'm sure I can figure something out," he said confidently as he reached up to the device to grab it. He stopped when Eve quickly leaned back in her seat away from his hand. "What's wrong? You want that off, don't you?" he asked her again with a raised eyebrow.

She finally lifted her head all the way up and let her eyes meet his. She let them linger on his for a moment before she was convinced that he wouldn't hurt her and she gave a small nod.

He reached for the device once more and wrapped his fingers around the tightly fitted necklace. After a few moments Eve felt the metal piece around her neck turn ice cold, the freezing sensation almost felt like it was burning her skin. She heard a loud crack once it was completely frozen and then Scorpius gave it a small tug before it broke in two. He removed the device from her neck and threw it aside before he watched her reach up and rub her neck.

"Thank you." she softly mumbled.

He nodded before silence filled the room. "Your powers... what are they?" he asked her, his curiosity getting the best of him.

She looked at him, a bit surprised at his question. "You want to see them?"

"Well, yeah," he said with a slight smile, he was intrigued to know what they were.

She was unsure at first, but the bit of excitement in his voice made her oblige.

"Ok... your bedroom... back at the Manor? Picture it in your head," she told him.

"Alright," he said with a raised eyebrow.

She let out a shaky breath before she slowly lifted her hands to each side of his head. "Close your eyes." she whispered.

He did what she asked and after a few moments she told him to open them. He slowly peeked them open to see her staring at him before she moved out of his sight.

He looked around him and his eyes went wide when he was standing in the middle of his bedroom. "Wow, are we at the Manor?"

She shook her head. "No, your mind just thinks you are," she said as she looked around the room with him. "I have that book," she said, pointing to one of his favorite ones on the shelf.

Everything around him was an exact replica of his bedroom back home. "This is... incredible," he said with a wide smile before he looked at her again.

The room faded and they were standing in the kitchen again.

"What else can you do?"

She looked at the bowl of water and the rag he had set down on the table. The rag lifted up and submerged itself in the water and then twisted tightly to wring out the excess water. She then held her hand out as the wet cloth floated over to her where she held it up to her neck where her wound was.

"Scorpius?" They both looked across the room to Matthew standing there. "Can I have a word with you please?"

"Sure," he said before giving Eve one last look.

He made his way back into the dining room where Matthew pulled him aside. "I want you to be cautious around Eve," he warned.

"I don't understand, I thought you just said she helped my parents."

"I did say that, but Eve's powers are a lot greater than she thinks. She can read, erase and manipulate any of your minds. She knows nothing of life outside of that lab, just what she's heard and seen from others. It's best you and everyone else keep some distance for now. You understand?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Good," he said, giving him a small pat on the shoulder before he left the room.

* * *

Crystal walked into the lab the next day and walked right up to Draco and Ginny's rooms and just looked at them, her eyes watering.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

Crystal let out a small emotional gasp before a smile stretched across her face. "She got out... Eve... she got out."

Draco and Ginny let out a relieved sigh, they didn't want to see Eve be punished in such a way for trying to help them.

"That's great... she needed to get out of here," Draco said.

Crystal nodded. "Matthew got her out... he took Noah and Riley with him too."

Tears stung Ginny's eyes at the relief she felt now that Riley was out of this horrible place. She let a few tears spill as the greatest news she had heard since she'd been here set in.

"Why didn't you go with Matthew?" Draco asked her.

Crystal just shook her head. "I can't... I'm too weak. I've never been able to go against my father, Eve was braver than I am." she said softly. "I'll probably end up dead at the end of all of this," she whispered.

"Don't say that," Ginny said.

Crystal looked at her. "It's true though... I will always do what I'm told... out of fear... and yeah, I know that makes me a terrible person, but it's all I know how to do."

Neither Ginny nor Draco knew what to say, the whole situation with the Adwell family was horrific.

"I should warn you now, my father plans to try the serum out tomorrow on you," she said to Ginny.

"What? I thought there was still a few more days left before it was ready?" Draco asked.

"He doesn't want to wait any longer; he believes it's ready now."

"What about the baby?" Ginny asked.

"He doesn't believe it will interfere with your body reacting to the serum... or rather, doesn't care if it does anymore."

"Can you try to convince your father to use the serum on me first?" Draco pleaded with her.

"What? No." Ginny said angrily turning to him. "I won't let that happen."

"Oh, and I'm supposed to be ok with letting them use you for it?"

"No," she said softly, lowering her head. "But if Adwell thinks I'm the best candidate for it, then maybe I have a chance of surviving it."

"Ginny, if something happens to you... I... I don't know what I would do." he said more to himself than to her.

A life without Ginny in it to Draco would be no life at all. It was she who gave him a reason to live so long ago. All those times he had that blade to his skin, to his throat, wanting to end it all but never succeeding... she was the light through all of it. She made him believe that he deserved happiness and that he could feel love, give love, and be loved by someone in return. Everything he had in his life was because of Ginny... his life was Ginny and that was all it ever would be. Just her and the beautiful family she gave him. Losing Ginny would break him in so many ways, it was a thought he couldn't even fathom.

"I can try to convince my father all I want, but it won't matter, he won't change his mind and if you think he will to try and spare your wife, then you're a fool," she said before she walked over to Ginny's room and looked at her. "By the end of the tomorrow you will either be one of three things... exactly how you are now... the most powerful witch in the world... or dead," she said to Ginny before she walked over to the computer and opened the walls between the three of them. "I'm sure I'll catch some heat for this, but I suppose it's the least I can do before you could potentially lose your wife forever," she said looking at Draco before she left the room.

* * *

"Here, these should fit you," Ember said, placing a small stack of clothes on Eve's bed.

Eve just looked at the clothes on the bed and then down at her own before she picked up a pair of jeans and looked at them.

"I know they aren't the greatest selection but-"

"They're fine." Eve quickly said. "I just don't think I've ever worn jeans before."

Ember just gave her a small smile. "Well, my room is a few doors down if you need anything else," she said before she went to leave the room.

"He won't approach you," Eve said suddenly, making Ember stop in the doorway and look at her. "Noah, he has no intentions of bringing up what happened or bothering you about your new relationship with-"

"Don't do that." Ember snapped suddenly. "Don't read my mind."

Eve gave a small nod. "Sorry... I can't help it sometimes," she said softly.

"Let me know if you need anything," Ember mumbled before she closed the door.

She walked across the house to the other hall and gave a soft knock on Riley's door. She had been asleep since she got here.

"Riley?" she called out into the dimly lit room.

She finally spotted her sitting on the bench in front of the window, hugging her knees to her chest. She walked over and took a seat and saw the dried up tears on her sister's face.

"Riley? We should talk about what happened there."

Riley just turned and looked at her with this blank expression before she turned back to the window.

"Riley? Please talk to me."

Riley looked down, her eyes welling with tears again before she buried her face in her knees and started crying. Ember reached forward to hug her, but she shifted her body away from her and cried in a curled up ball in front of the window. After another moment or so she realized Riley had no intentions of talking to her and got up and left the room.

She was on her way back to her own room when she stopped in front of Noah's room and stared at the closed door. She wanted to know what happened to them there in that lab. Her body just stood frozen in place. Was that all she wanted to know? She wanted to yell at Noah, tell him how much he hurt her.

"Ember?"

She heard Jake's voice behind her.

"Should I go in there?" she asked him, not turning around to look at him, her eyes still fixated on the bedroom door a few feet away.

She heard Jake take a few steps towards her from behind. "Do you feel like you have to go in there?" he asked her softly.

She nodded, her eyes watering a bit.

"Then you should go in," he said with a small sigh before he wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Jake's embrace made any feelings of her wanting to confront Noah disappear and she turned towards him before she shook her head. "I don't want to go."

He gave her a small smile before he laced his fingers with hers and pulled her along to their bedrooms.

* * *

The knock on Scorpius' door made him want to rip his hair out as he expected it to be Raven again. He was surprised though when he ripped the door open and saw James standing there.

"Oh, hey, come in," he said, holding the door open.

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"You mean since the guy we thought we killed came walking through the front door? Or that my girlfriend lied to me about her potential pregnancy in an attempt to test my commitment to her?"

"See, when you say it out loud, it's not that bad." James teased with a small smirk.

"Honestly though, when I heard Noah wasn't dead I felt relieved, but seeing him again stirred up a lot of anger."

James just nodded in agreement. "What they were doing to him though... his own father? I hate the bloody git, but I don't know if anyone deserves that."

They both fell into deep thought as a silence filled the room, only to be shattered by the sound of Raven knocking on the open door.

"Hey James, mind if I have a word with Scorpius?" she asked.

James turned to Scorpius with a forced smile before he left the room, prompting Raven to walk inside and shut the door.

"Scorpius, I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please... what can I do to show you how sorry I am?" she begged him. "I only did it because-"

"Raven, just stop," he said, holding his hand up to cut her off. "I don't want you to justify why you did it... how about just an apology? I don't care why you did it... the point is that you lied to me. When you're the one who wanted to test loyalty and commitment, yet you're the one who broke all the trust between us. I've always been honest with you, even when I was scared that you almost ended up pregnant, I put my exact feelings out there."

She walked over to him and grabbed his face, her grip on him held desperation for forgiveness.

"You're right... I'm so sorry, I messed up and I don't want to lose you." she sniffled, tears sliding down her face.

He tried with everything in him to not look into her eyes, but the love he had for Raven still made his eyes travel up to her tear-filled ones. Her green eyes lit up through the pool of tears that overflowed down her face and he buckled. He felt her wrap her arms around him and he slowly hugged her back. He was still angry, he was hurt that she would do something so devious to him.

"I think we should turn in for the night," he said, pulling back from the hug.

She gave him a small nod before she took a step back. "What do you think about Noah staying here with us? And his sister, she's kind of creepy."

Scorpius just shrugged. "It is what it is, we'll have to make it work. Eve seems a bit odd, but Matthew trusts her and we should trust him, he's done a lot for us."

Raven nodded in agreement before she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Well, Goodnight Scorpius," she said softly.

* * *

Scorpius turned over for the tenth time in his bed that night trying to fall asleep. He even reached over to his side table to see if he had any sleeping draught left to help him fall asleep, but soon found nothing but empty vials. He couldn't stop thinking about things with Raven and then of course what his parents must be going through. He missed them a lot and it scared him to think of what kind of experiments and torture they had gone through since they've been there. He saw the condition of Noah and Riley, he knew it was from that place and what was done to them.

He let out a soft growl of frustration and ripped the blankets off himself before he made his way into the hall. He heard someone throwing up in the bathroom and as he approached the door, he realized it was Noah as he took in the opened bedroom door a few feet away. He hated Noah, he hated him for what he did to Ember and just the kind of person he was in general, but he still felt that he didn't deserve the horror his father had put him through.

He descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He walked over to the back door and looked out into the field, his eyes falling on the lake where the moonlight glistened across it. His mind went back to the first time he started having feelings for Raven, it was back when they were partnered up in Potions. He remembered being highly annoyed at her for insisting that the way she cut up the ingredients for the potion they were working on didn't matter. Of course to prove his point he made a separate potion on his own to show her the difference. It was the laugh she let out that pulled him in when her potion came out just as good as his and he gave her a slight sneer.

After a few more encounters with her throughout the year, he had started taking an interest in her, especially how she always liked to question him on everything. So much so, that he was constantly trying to prove her wrong. Eventually, she came clean about pretending to do things the wrong way, just so that he would take the time to show her how to properly do it. He liked that Raven wasn't intimidated by him or his last name like he had found many people throughout his school years to be. It was during one of their many heated debates one night over charms that they finally kissed and then formed a relationship along the way.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and realized someone was sitting on the porch swing outside. He opened the door and turned the dim light on before he saw it was Eve and made his way over to her.

"What are you doing out here in the dark in the middle of the night?"

"Sorry... I just can't sleep." she said, her face down looking at her fidgeting hands.

He took a seat beside her before he let out a hard sigh. "Same."

Silence filled the air between them as he looked out at the lake again for a few moments before he felt her eyes on him. He turned back to her as she quickly looked away.

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She just shook her head.

"What is it?" he asked again, a small smirk forming on his face when he saw her smile at his questioning.

"It's just... you look exactly like your father."

"Ha, yeah... luckily for you, you don't look a damn thing like yours."

She hung her head at his comment and felt ashamed for being related to the man responsible for so much pain.

"It was supposed to be a joke... a really bad joke apparently." he laughed, giving her a light nudge with his arm.

She just gave him a small smile before she held her head in her hands. She started to rub the side of it as she let out a small sigh of discomfort.

"What's wrong? A headache?"

She gave a small scoff at his question. "I wish that's all it was," she mumbled. "Noah mentioned something about the implant I had in my neck might have been acting as a stabilizer as well."

"Implant?"

She looked at the confused look on his face before she explained about the implant her father had put inside her. She told him the information Noah had given her when they arrived here and his concerns about her powers.

"Now I'm just worried that maybe he's right... I've never experienced this kind of discomfort with them. Some of it feels almost new... maybe Noah is right about me starting to lose control of them." she said softly, more to herself than to him.

"If that is the case, then you can practice with the rest of us."

"Practice?"

"That's the plan, to practice and learn to control them so we can break into Adwell labs and save my parents."

Eve lifted her head up at this. "A rescue?"

He nodded before a bright smile stretched across her face at their plan to rescue Ginny, Draco, and Harry.

Scorpius was surprised by her sudden excitement and interest as she shifted her body to face him more.

"Scorpius, I could definitely help you guys. I know almost every single inch of that place and with my powers, I could make it look like the floors of that place and we could really get a proper idea of what to expect," she said quickly as ideas started pooling into her head of how to help.

He smirked at her. This was the most he heard her speak since she'd been here. "That would be brilliant."

"And I know Noah knows a lot more about the secrets inside that place than I do. I mean... I know he's not the most popular person here right now, but my father had big plans for my brother to be his right hand. I thought my sister Crystal knew almost everything, but its Noah... he knows a lot more than I thought he did. Before... everything went down with you guys, my father was showing Noah everything at the lab and honestly... Noah probably knew somewhat of my father's intentions with your family before everything happened."

"You know we're probably going to have to act civil towards each other so all of this information about how much of a scumbag your brother is, isn't helping." he snapped.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "But... yeah, I can help and I want to help."

He wanted to ask her why she was so keen on helping them, but he assumed it was from the horrific life she was born into. Matthew believed she was worth saving and that she would be of use to them, but he seemed concerned about her powers. When Scorpius thought about everything he was told or knew about Eve, it was as if she was built to be a weapon and that thought was a bit unsettling.

A light breeze hit them as silence filled the air again. Scorpius lightly pushed his feet off the floor to let the porch swing they sat on sway a bit.

"You're angry," Eve stated suddenly, turning to look at him as he stared out into the open field.

"Yep." he sighed, as he pushed with a bit more force, letting the swing sway harder.

"With that girl? Raven?"

He turned to look at her, "It's hard to stay angry at someone when you love them. But it's also hard to love them when you're so fuckin angry at them." he said, dragging his feet along the floor to stop the swing from moving.

"She is hiding something from you."

He looked at her again. "Are you asking me that or telling me?"

Eve just looked at him, her eyes went a bit wide before she shook her head and stood up. "I should try to get some sleep.," she said before she went to walk away.

"Hold up, wait a second," he said as he quickly got up and grabbed her wrist to stop her. "You just said she was hiding something, what is it? Because she already told me about her fake pregnancy scare. Is there something else?"

Eve just looked down at his fingers wrapped around her wrist before she looked back up at him. "I don't know, I didn't mean to know the information I already do. Sometimes I can't help the thoughts I hear," she said quietly as she went to turn away again.

"But there is something else?" he asked, giving her wrist another light tug as she turned to him again.

She looked down at his hand around her wrist again and fell silent before she felt him loosen his grip and clear his throat.

"Sorry," he mumbled, letting her wrist go.

She looked down at the floor for a few moments before she lifted her head a bit to meet his gaze. "Goodnight," she whispered before she walked back inside.

Hoping that Eve was wrong about the fact that Raven was hiding something more from him, he made his way into the house and tried to get some sleep too.

* * *

Ginny released a small giggle before she laced her fingers tighter with Draco's and then looked at her other hand laced with Harry's, who sat beside her. They just got done sharing a memory of Scorpius and Ember's sixth birthday party.

"I still can't believe she punched him, and pretty hard too for a six-year-old." Harry laughed.

"Ember definitely had a temper." Ginny giggled.

"Had?" Draco corrected her.

She turned to him with a smile, her eyes just piercing into his for a moment before she rested her head on his shoulder. "I miss them... how long has it been? I don't even know what day it is or if it's morning or night."

Draco and Harry shrugged.

"Maybe a month or so?" Harry guessed.

"Maybe it's a Saturday night?" Draco suggested.

Ginny just stared down at her and Draco's interlocked fingers. "Maybe," she whispered.

Crystal walked into the lab and made her way over to them and stopped outside of their rooms. "I need you back in your own rooms now," she said softly rather than in her hard cold tone.

They got up and Draco hugged Ginny tightly in his arms before he grabbed her face and kissed her. The walls separated their rooms once more and that's when Crystal entered Ginny's room, she had a syringe in one hand and her wand gripped tightly in the other.

"I need you to cooperate or I'll be forced to use this," she told her.

Ginny let out a shaky breath before she gave a quick glance at Draco. "What do I have to do?"

Crystal gestured over to the examination bed. "Get on."

Ginny walked over to the wall where Draco met her. He could see how scared she was and once again he was as helpless as ever.

"You're going to be fine... you're strong," he told her as a lump formed in his throat from his own fear.

She nodded at his words. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said before he watched her walk out of the room and pull herself up onto the bed.

Crystal pocketed her wand and the syringe she had once Ginny didn't put up a fight. She walked over to the table and looked at Ginny.

"Arms down," she said as she locked her wrists down with metal restraints and then did the same to her legs.

Ginny's heart started to race, she suddenly didn't want to cooperate anymore, but it was too late now. Crystal removed her neck device and then tilted the bed a bit upward so that Ginny could see Draco and Harry. She continued to hook Ginny up to a few machines to monitor her vitals and set up an IV before she stopped and gave her a sad look.

"I'll be right back... then we'll get started," she said to Ginny.

Ginny could see the uncertainty in Crystal's face and hear it in her tone. She was sure the last time something like this was attempted was when she witnessed her mother die from it. She watched Crystal leave the room before she looked over at Draco and Harry. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream that she couldn't do this and that she didn't want to, but she knew there was no way to avoid it now.

She could feel the table beneath her turn hot, the metal restraints around her starting to burn as her powers surfaced. Her heart was beating so fast it was painful and she started to freak out a bit as she attempted to free herself.

"I'm scared. I'm sorry, I'm trying to relax, but I don't want to die. I just want to see the kids again." she cried out.

"Ginny, look at me," Draco said firmly. "You're going to be fine... you are, ok?"

She just stared at him through her watery eyes before she nodded and let out an emotional breath as she tried to steady her breathing. She turned towards the door when Crystal came back in with her father and her uncle Robert Adwell.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy, you must be just as thrilled as I am to be a part of something extraordinary." Jack Adwell said to her as he walked up beside her bed.

"Fuck you, psychopath." she spat.

He just smiled at her comment. "You have no idea."

"Let me take her place," Draco begged. "Please."

Adwell didn't even turn to look at him; he instead started filling a syringe with the serum. "Don't worry Mr. Malfoy, if she dies, you'll be my next candidate," he said, glancing over to him before he turned back to Ginny. "Let's hope you survive this because the last person I spent nineteen years creating into my own personal weapon turned on me and escaped."

"If I survive... will you let Draco and Harry go?" she asked him, tears falling down her face.

He stroked her head a few times before he looked down at her. "Of course not. I'll probably end up killing one of them as payback for Eve." he said with an evil grin. "Robert, why don't you go over the aftermath of all of this," he told his brother before he turned to get the other syringe ready.

Robert gave Ginny a sad look before he shook his head a bit. "Ginny, if this is successful there is a number of things that can go wrong afterward. First, you will probably lose control of all your powers, which is why you'll be sedated for the first few days after. When you first wake up the pain is going to be astronomical, but you'll be monitored to try and make you as comfortable as possible. The truth is, this has never successfully been done so we aren't sure what to expect."

"When Eve first got her powers she couldn't speak for the first three hours. Her mind couldn't handle everything at once... eventually, everything came back to her. She was also in an extreme amount of pain when everyone's thoughts hit her at once. That power alone will be the hardest one to control." Crystal explained. "When I first got mine... I couldn't walk for three days, it took a few days for my body to accept my powers and again... eventually everything worked itself out," she explained softly.

Robert leaned down closer to Ginny when he saw his brother walk across the room for something. "Ginny, try not to fight it... if you want any chance of surviving this, let it just consume you for now. You can learn to control it after. That's my advice to you. You might come out of this and not know who you are at first, your memories will be scattered. You might only remember a single person from a random time. You might understand when someone speaks to you, but not be able to talk back... you might..."

Ginny had stopped listening at this point; his words were just a muffled mess as she looked across to Draco. For some reason as she looked at him she suddenly felt peaceful, his mercury eyes piercing into hers calmed her. They brought her to a place of serenity and for some reason, she smiled at him. When he smiled back at her, it made everything ok. She had accepted whatever was about to happen to her. If this killed her, she thought about how much happier Draco made her life. Their children and the family they created made her feel like she had already lived a full life anyway and she was content with that thought.

"Alright, let's get started." Mr. Adwell said as he walked back over. "I've combined two powers in each syringe, the first batch will be the power of intangibility and the same ones that Crystal possesses," he said as he emptied the syringe into her IV.

All eyes were on Ginny as they waited for some kind of change or any result of this actually working. Just as Adwell was about to grow impatient Ginny took in a sharp breath and tried to rip her arms from the restraints. Her fingertips started to turn silver and it ran up her arm into her veins then halfway up her neck. She started to feel some discomfort and then the pain hit her as she let out a loud painful scream.

Adwell took the other syringe and got ready to empty it in next when his brother grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait, you don't want to overload her... she might not respond well to it all at once."

"I'll decide what is too much." he snarled as he ripped his arm from his brother's grip.

The pain running through Ginny intensified and she let out an even louder scream as her wrists desperately tried to rip free from the restraints. Her entire body was covered in metal as her screaming continued to echo throughout the room.

Draco didn't realize he had backed away from the scene until he felt his back hit the wall between him and Harry's room. His eyes were wide and his expression blank as he watched her scream out in pain.

"She's going to fight through it," Harry said from behind him as he watched the scene himself. "She will be fine... she has to be," he whispered.

After another round of screaming, she suddenly fell silent and her head slumped to the side.

"She just passed out from the pain," Crystal confirmed for Draco and Harry as she saw their faces turn white when they heard her go quiet.

The metal started to fade away and Ginny stirred a bit as she started to wake up.

"Welcome back Mrs. Malfoy," Adwell said with a smile as he seemed pleased with how Ginny's body was responding to the new powers. He wasted no time injecting the rest of the powers into her. "Now for the real test and probably the most painful... let's see how you do with Eve's powers and a bit of electricity from our dear Mr. Potter," he said with an evil grin.

He tossed the syringe aside and stood back in anticipation. Ginny blinked a few times as she tried to stay awake from the excruciating pain and then she felt the other set of powers hit her. If she thought the pain she felt before was the worst she had ever experienced, she was wrong. She roared out in pain as she threw her head back in agony. Her back arching as she tried to rip her limbs from the metal restraints again. She pulled so hard her wrists and ankles started bleeding. The room around them started shaking and the lights started popping all throughout the lab. A blood-curdling scream filled Draco's ears as she cried out in anguish.

The machines attached to her started beeping off the charts as her blood pressure and heart rate rose. She started violently shaking; her body convulsing as Crystal ran over to read her vitals.

"She's seizing!"

Crystal went to take a step closer to Ginny when an electrical wave whipped across the room and threw them all backward. Draco covered his face in case the walls to his room shattered, but they held up. He ran over to the wall between him and Ginny, her hands and feet, ripping through the metal restraints, her hair floating up like fiery flames, and her veins changing from gold to black to silver.

"GINNY!" Draco screamed out to her as he pounded on the wall.

Mr. Adwell looked worried, he was watching his creation fall apart before him as Ginny lost control and her vitals were all over the place. Everything suddenly stopped and all chaos and screaming came to an end. Ginny slowly lifted her head to look at Draco, blood dripping from her nose before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she flatlined.

"NO! GINNY!" Draco screamed, his fists continued to slam on the wall before him even though he knew he wasn't breaking through. Even when they became bloody and bruised, he still slammed on the wall until his legs gave out on him and he slid to the floor in tears. "GINNY! GET UP!"

The room was silent; the only sound was the monitor representing Ginny's nonexistent heartbeat.

"Ginny... Ginny, please wake up... please don't do this to me." Draco sobbed to himself as if she would hear him... as if she would come back to him if he begged hard enough.

Mr. Adwell got to his feet, anger apparent on his face as he screamed and yelled at the failed experiment before him. He walked over to Ginny and listened for any sign of life from her and when he felt nothing he stormed from the room. Crystal had her hand over her mouth in disbelief; she was hopeful that Ginny would adapt to the serum. She looked at Draco and Harry, her hatred for herself became overwhelming as she realized she helped her father this entire time only to get to this outcome.

She walked over to Draco and knelt down in front of him where he was completely falling apart.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He picked his head up to look at her, his eyes covered with ice. "Don't you fuckin speak to me. You're dead... as soon as I get a chance... I'm going to kill you... all of you." he choked out as he felt the next dose of serum being injected into his neck and his eyes returned to normal as he fell into another fit of sobs.

 **A/N: I know it is a bit of a shocker there. I will try to get the next chapter out asap! Would love some feedback, what do you guys think about Eve and Noah being at the house now? What about Raven and Scorpius? How about the ending with our dear sweet Ginny? Please review!**

 **If you haven't joined my Facebook group yet be sure to join. I post chapter previews and updates how when the next chapter will be up. The link can be found on my profile page.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: So sorry for the late update, my mother was in the hospital again and things were kind of hectic. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

Aurora gave a quick knock on the bedroom door before she poked her head in. "Eve, breakfast is ready."

Eve looked at her for a moment. "Breakfast?"

Aurora gave her an amused smirk. "Ok, I know you've lived in the dark all these years, but surely you know what breakfast is?" she said folding her arms and leaning against the door frame.

"Of course, I just don't understand why you're telling me."

"Because we eat breakfast together," she said slowly as if it was obvious.

Eve was silent as she took in what Aurora told her. "At the table?"

Aurora just gave her a small smile. "Yeah, you know... like a family and all that crap."

"But I'm not your family."

"No... but you tried to help my parents and Harry... and for that, you are always welcome to sit around the table with us."

She was silent.

"So, are you coming?" Aurora asked once more as she stepped back into the hallway.

Eve nodded before she got up and followed her downstairs. As she neared the dining room, she heard a loud conversation between everyone taking place. Aurora pointed to an empty seat she could sit at and she walked over and sat between Ellie and Harper.

"Good morning Eve, dear, here you go." Mrs. Weasley said, walking over and piling pancakes onto her dish followed by some eggs.

Eve just stared down at her plate. "Thank you," she said softly before she turned to Harper and saw she had the same food on her plate.

She looked back at her plate and picked up the pancake with two hands and took a small bite out of it.

"It's better with syrup," Scorpius said, as he leaned forward across from her and placed a bottle of syrup down.

She gave him a small smile before she picked it up and poured some on her pancakes.

"Have you never eaten a pancake before?" Harper teased her.

"Actually... no," she said more to herself than to Harper.

"Well, you might want to try a fork. I mean... unless you've never used one of those either." Harper sarcastically said.

"I've used a fork before," she mumbled, as she picked one up from beside her plate.

"Ignore Harper; she's always a sarcastic smart-ass." Ellie giggled.

Eve gave a small nod before she felt someone's eyes on her. She lifted her head a bit to see Raven staring at her and quickly looked down at her plate. She glanced back up to see if she was still staring and she couldn't help but pick up the whirlpool of thoughts swimming through Raven's head. Most of them were how she wanted Scorpius to forgive her, but there was one particular thought that made Eve's eyes go a bit wide, making her look up and stare right at her. Raven didn't expect her to lock eyes with her and quickly broke the gaze.

A sharp pain in Eve's head made her look back down at her plate as she rubbed the side of it. She noticed her plate starting to lift off the table a bit and quickly slid her thumbs on each side of it to hold it down. She saw Ellie look her way as a small red dot hitting her plate caught her eyes. She felt the blood from her nose dripping down her face and quickly grabbed a napkin and got up from the table before anyone else could notice.

She went into the bathroom and washed her face free of any blood before she looked in the mirror. It started to shake until it cracked and a few pieces fell into the sink. She tried to stay calm and walked out of the bathroom and knocked on Noah's door before she decided to walk into his room before he could answer.

"Noah, get up!" she said loudly as she sat on the side of his bed and gave him one rough shake.

He quickly sat up and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"I think you were right about my powers... something feels different. It's like I haven't experienced some of what I'm feeling before... it's overwhelming." She said in a panic.

"Ok, relax," he said, grabbing her shoulders and trying to get her to calm down. "You're just not used to them being this strong. Everyone's thoughts are going to hit you at once rather than you tuning into who you'd like. The more you freak out, the more you'll lose control."

She nodded before she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths as the throbbing in her head started to subside.

After a few moments, she opened them and stared at him. "How could you?" she asked him.

"How could I what?" he looked at her confused.

She just looked at him again, a look of disappointment on her face.

He locked eyes with her for a moment and for some reason he knew exactly what she meant.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke. "You should say something."

"That's a horrible idea," he said, getting up and pacing the room. "I was a piece of shit then... I still am. It's best to just leave things alone."

"Noah... I know we don't know each other as well as we'd hope for, but I do know what it was like to be in that lab and I know you do too. There is no way you came out of that place the same man you were before." she said softly before she left his room.

* * *

Draco watched Ginny run into their bedroom in excitement, a smile stretched across her face.

"I love that woman," she said as she plopped down on the bed beside him.

"Your mother does have a gift when it comes to getting the twins to sleep... especially at the same time," Draco said before he pulled the covers over them.

"Dad said the farmhouse should be ready for them to move into before the wedding," Ginny said as she snuggled up into his arms.

"That soon?" he asked.

"What our wedding or them moving out?" she laughed.

He slid his hand down to her waist and gave it a light squeeze as she laughed from him tickling her. He stopped and just stared down at her before a wide smile spread across his face.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

He shook his head. "I just can't believe I get to marry you."

"And a Weasley no less." She added with a smirk.

"Exactly." He teased, making her laugh harder before he laid back on his pillow. "I also can't believe Scorpius and Ember are nine months old already."

"I know," she said with a bright smile as she lay down facing him. "Um. actually... speaking of nine months," she said as she propped herself up to better look at him. "I need to tell you something."

He just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Well, you know how we planned to wait until the twins were at least two before we decided to have another baby?"

He sat back up. "Something tells me that we're horrible planners."

"The worst." she giggled.

He grabbed her face and pulled her to him, the past few months had been emotionally and mentally rough for all of them, especially since he lost his mother. The news of Ginny's pregnancy had a different effect on him this time than the first time she was pregnant. He actually felt happy and excited about the news.

"Your parents are going to have to stay permanently if we keep having kids like this. Who's going to put them to sleep?" he joked.

Ginny gave him a light slap. "Relax; I don't plan on having any more kids for a while after this one." she laughed.

Ginny's laugh filled his ears and then became muffled and the memory Draco was lost in faded from his mind as he opened his eyes and was met with the same glass walls around him. He looked over at the table where Ginny still lay lifeless, a blanket now over her. His eyes staring at her pale hand that hung off the side.

It had been a few hours since he watched Ginny die before his very eyes. His body still sat in a piled mess on the floor against the wall as his tears finally dried up. Every time he didn't think he could cry anymore for her, fresh tears would fill his eyes again.

He finally managed to turn himself around to glance over at Harry. He was sitting on the floor against the walk between their rooms still, his head hung as he cried just as much as Draco did for his friend. Draco pulled himself up and sat down against the wall next to Harry.

Harry just looked up at him and shook his head; he had no idea what to say to him. "Draco... I..." he trailed off when he couldn't find the words.

Draco looked at him through his puffy red eyes, tears still overflowing down his face that he didn't fight anymore. "You know... when Ginny and I first got together, every day I fought it. I just kept thinking I didn't deserve it... I didn't deserve her... love... anything that would make me happy. Even after my father was dead, there were still days I waited for something bad to happen. I thought at any moment I'm going to wake up from this incredible dream with Ginny. I waited for it all to be taken away at any moment because it would be a punishment I well deserved." he looked down at his bloody knuckles and then let out an emotional breath as he started crying again. "And I was right... this is it-"

"Draco, stop it." Harry cut him off.

"This is what I deserve, it's just one big joke and I'm the fool who fell for it."

"Don't do that, don't you fuckin do that," Harry said angrily, turning to look at him. "So this is what Ginny deserved? This is what our children deserve?" Harry yelled at him.

"We're as good as dead." Draco choked out. "We aren't getting out of here, not alive."

Harry wouldn't let Draco sit there and let himself think he deserved to have his wife taken from him or his family to be ripped apart like this because of his past. He knew he was just trying to understand why something so tragic like this would happen to him... to Ginny. As much as he fought Draco on whether he deserved this or not, he couldn't fight him on the reality that they weren't getting out of here. He had finally accepted their fate when Ginny died earlier. It was then he knew they had lost this fight.

Harry looked over at the form of Ginny's body under the sheet across the room. His eyes fell on a piece of her ginger hair that hung off the table. He wished he had something more comforting to say to Draco, but there was nothing that would make anything ok right now.

"Draco, I don't know what to say... I just know that our children are still out there and we need to still fight until the very end." Harry desperately tried to make Draco see things any other way, but he knew how broken he must be.

The last time Draco was even close to being as upset as he was now was when his mother was killed, but this was Ginny. She was his everything and he could only imagine what he must be going through.

"Listen to me Draco-"

Harry's abrupt pause made Draco look up at him and then follow his gaze across the room over to Ginny.

"What?"

Harry quickly stood up and Draco followed.

"What is it?" he asked him again.

"I... I thought I saw..." he trailed off before he rubbed his face.

"You thought you saw what, Potter?" Draco asked him again before he watched Harry's eyes grow wide and then turned around to see what he was looking at.

The first thing Draco noticed, was Ginny's limp, pale hand that hung off the bed was no longer there. It was when he saw her thin white fingers reach up from under the sheet and slowly wrap around the bed rail that made his stomach twist into a knot.

"Please tell me you are seeing this," Harry whispered to him.

Draco couldn't speak; his eyes were only locked on the form of what he knew to be Ginny across the room. All his breath was stuck in his throat forming a giant lump, his heart beating so fast he thought he would drop dead of a heart attack right here. He took a step closer to the other side of the room as he watched her other hand shakily reach up to pull the sheet off of herself.

"G-Ginny?" he choked out, as he wiped the last of his tears from his face and hoped he wasn't hallucinating.

He watched her pull the sheet down from her face before she suddenly jolted up and made a loud gasp for air as if she had just reached the surface of some kind of imaginary body of water she was drowning in. She looked all around the room, unsure of what she was looking for. She was dizzy and confused as she leaned over the side of the bed and lost her balance, making the entire bed fall over and crash to the floor.

Ginny quickly scrambled across the floor against the wall and curled up into a ball. She hugged her knees to her chest tightly as her copper strands fell all around her face. She grabbed her head in agony, her pale fingers digging through her hair and grabbing it with such force it looked like she might rip it from her head.

Draco wasn't sure what to do... what to say. Was she really alive? Was she even Ginny? What she even human anymore? He had no idea what to think. He wanted to glance at Harry, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Even in the dark corner she was in, he could tell she was scared... confused. He slowly took a few steps across his room until he was as close to the wall as he could get to her.

He let out a shaky breath. "Ginny?" his voice cut through the silence in the room.

Ginny's painful moans and whimpering suddenly stopped at the sound of his voice. He jumped back and fell to the floor when Ginny suddenly crawled over to the wall he was near. He wasn't ready for her abrupt approach.

His heart was racing as he propped himself up to look at her. She just sat there on the floor outside of his room as he slowly crawled over to her.

"Ginny? Are you... are you there?" he softly asked, placing his hand up against the glass.

Her head still hung and her breathing was still rapid as she continued to fight the pain throughout her body. She slowly brought one of her hands up to the glass and placed it over his. Draco gave a small smile at this, he was hopeful it was a good sign and it made him even tear up.

Ginny lifted her head to look at him, her hair falling out of her face as she stared right at him. Her eyes were these thick milky white color; there was nothing familiar about them at all which made his heart stop. If he looked closely enough, he could see what looked like a tiny electrical cluster of colors in her pupils as her powers fought to overpower one another.

She just stared at him, no emotion, he wasn't sure if she recognized him, he didn't even know if she knew herself, but he swore he could tell she was trying to make sense of it all. He could tell when she looked at him that there was something that felt familiar to her.

She placed her other hand on the glass and stood up and Draco followed.

"Are you in there Ginny?" he whispered out.

Harry heard a buzzing sound above him, making him look up at the lights in the room. The bulbs were shining brighter than normal.

"Draco?" Harry called out to him, but he was too entranced by Ginny and the fact that she pretty much just came back from the dead. "Draco?"

Draco just continued to watch her, he was locked on her. Only moments ago he was shattered completely with grief at losing the most meaningful person in his life and now here she was. He took a step back when she moved her hand forward and it went through the glass wall. He continued to stare at it before he took a step forward again and held his hand up. He slowly reached forward and went to touch her hand when Harry's voice made him pause.

"Draco... don't, she could be dangerous."

The sound of someone walking into the lab made Ginny's head snap over, making her retract her hand. It was Crystal and she jumped back against the wall at the sight of Ginny, her eyes wide.

"Y-You're supposed to be dead." she stuttered for words.

Ginny took a step towards her and she quickly ran from the room calling for her father.

"Ginny, hey, look at me," Draco said as he quickly ran over to the wall and banged on it to get her attention. "The keys, you need to get the room keys and let us out," he said as he pointed across the room.

She didn't even look at him; instead, she brought her hand up to her nose where she started bleeding.

"Ginny! I need you to focus! Look at me!" he yelled to her as he banged harder on the wall for her to face him.

He knew it was of no use, he didn't even know if she understood him, he could only imagine what those powers did to her brain. Before he could try to get her attention again, Crystal came back into the room with her father, Robert Adwell and a few guards.

Jack Adwell's face lit up as a look of awe came over him. He was definitely pleased to see Ginny alive and from the way she was acting, he could tell some, if not all, of the powers he injected into her, were working. He started laughing with glee and in a somewhat demonic tone as he walked over to her.

"It worked... after all this time... you were the one I needed." he walked closer to her.

Ginny took a few steps back, her eyes changing to a darker shade. Once Adwell saw her back away from him he stopped in his tracks.

"You don't have to be afraid, dear," he said with an evil grin before he gestured for the guards to obtain her.

As they made their way towards her, the bed she had been lying dead on only moments ago lifted and flew across the room, hitting two guards with such force and pinning them to the wall until it crushed their bodies. Adwell quickly pulled out his wand and went to hit her with a disabling charm, but before he could even attempt the spell he was disarmed by Ginny's powers.

Ginny's eyes were now that deadly black that always made Draco's heart sink. She took a step towards Adwell, Crystal and Robert as ice covered the entire room, even the walls, floor, and ceiling. Electricity danced across the room in various abstract patterns as the lights popped one by one as Ginny's powers started to emerge. Jagged pieces of ice flew across the room and Adwell grabbed Crystal's wand from her to put up a powerful Protego charm, pushing her aside to protect himself.

The look Crystal gave her father was absolutely heartbreaking as she realized he had no intentions of keeping her safe at this moment. She turned to see Ginny advance on her, and she quickly tucked down into a ball and let her body turn to metal as sharp shards of ice flew at her.

Robert quickly threw a disabling charm at Ginny as he took cover behind one of the metal cabinets. The spell hit her and brought her to her knees as her nose started to bleed again, but just as Robert took the chance to one the neck devices on her, she fought off the disabling charm and locked her eyes on him. He went to throw a spell at her when Jack Adwell blocked him.

"Are you insane!" he yelled. "Do you know how important it is that she remains unharmed?"

"Unharmed? Jack, she is about to release more magical power than either of us ever imagined, how can someone like this go unharmed? You've created a monster!" Robert yelled back.

Ginny made a tray surgical tools lift up and fly across the room at Robert, one of them piercing his shoulder and another in his upper thigh as yelled out in pain. Jack Adwell just watched, almost in excitement, he was overwhelmed with joy at how Ginny's body was reacting to the powers.

"GINNY STOP!" Draco yelled at her, before she did something she would regret.

Again, she didn't even look his way and her eyes were only on Robert as she took a few more steps towards him. Robert grabbed the scalpel from his chest and brought it up to his throat as his eyes filled with fear.

"Ginny don't do this. Jack, stop her!" he yelled out.

"Father, do something." Crystal said through clenched teeth as anger rose in her voice.

Adwell ignored her as he just watched Ginny forced his brother to slit his own throat. He saw his brother's body drop to the floor and just laughed with more excitement.

"She's extraordinary, isn't she?" he said to Crystal before he watched Ginny go after the other guards in the room.

Crystal just shook her head at him before she took cover again from a blast of lightning that lit up the room. She was hurt by how her father didn't care about if she was safe or not and she was angry with herself for thinking he might actually care about her. She ran over to Draco's room as Ginny's powers grew more powerful and hit one of the buttons on the computer that opened the wall between each room. She unlocked his door and quickly slipped inside just as one of the metal cabinets flew across the room and hit the door to the room.

Draco just looked at her as she used his room to keep herself safe.

"These rooms won't hold." She said to him as she looked at the large crack down the glass wall to the room.

A powerful wave of energy traveled through the room, making the glass crack more. Draco, Crystal, and Harry were backed up against the wall at this point hoping that these walls would hold up a bit longer. Crystal could tell Ginny's powers were about to completely explode throughout the room which would surely kill them if it took the walls down. She grabbed Draco and Harry and threw them into the corner behind her before she reached forward and ripped the blanket off one of the beds. She whipped it out in front of her letting it turn to metal along with the rest of her body as she shielded the three of them from the blast that exploded throughout the room.

Draco heard the walls completely shatter and then a painful scream from Ginny. He looked up at Crystal, as her powers died down and could see the tears in her eyes that threatened to fall. She turned her attention to Ginny, who was on her knees and holding her head; blood dripping from her nose.

Draco wanted to run over to her, to see if she was anymore herself than before, but he could already tell there was nothing different. Adwell finally took his chance to slap a neck device on her.

"Oh, you, my dear, are magnificent. Crystal, come." He ordered as he waved her over to help him.

She just stared at him, anger apparent on her face. "You want my help? You let her kill your own brother... she could have killed me!" she yelled.

"Don't be so dramatic, you can take care of yourself... obviously." He gestured to her condition. "Now get over here before I put you downstairs with all the other failed experiments." He threatened.

She wiped the few tears that slid down her face before she went over and helped him get Ginny to her feet. She took one last look at Draco and Harry, glass from the shattered walls still in their hair. She waved her wand letting the walls around their rooms repair themselves before she left the room with her father and Ginny.

* * *

He fell to the ground for the hundredth time it seemed as he got to his feet once more. He was hunched over trying to catch his breath as he smoothed his hair back again.

"This is humiliating, I'm getting my arse kicked by a girl." Scorpius breathed out.

"By your aunt, which is worse." Hermione reminded him with a smirk before she punched him in the face making him stagger backward.

"Fuck!" he growled out as he wiped his bloody nose on the back of his hand. "Isn't this considered child abuse?"

"Nah, you're eighteen... it's fine." She said before she leg swiped him and he fell on his back, making an eruption of laughter form from the porch.

"I love watching her kick the shit out people." Ron sighed in admiration as he watched Hermione help Scorpius back up.

Ember and Aurora gave a small giggle before they walked over to McGonagall who was gesturing them over to the middle of the field.

"Mr. Malfoy, why don't you go take a quick break while we practice a bit with our powers." She said, stifling her own laughter as he made his way towards the porch. "Alright, I want everyone to be a part of this practice." She said motioning to everyone on the porch.

The rest of them made their way down to the field. Eve stood there and watched until she felt someone give her shoulder a light push from behind for her to join them. She turned to see Scorpius standing behind her before he gestured with his hand for her to join the group. She looked at the small crowd around McGonagall and then back at him. He nodded for her to go ahead, which for some reason gave her a little more confidence and she made her way down to the field.

"Ahh, Eve, very good. We all could use as much practice as possible. Why don't you all get in teams of two?" McGonagall suggested.

Eve watched them all scramble about and then turned to look at Ellie. "You should be my partner." She said.

Ellie looked at her with some surprise. "Me? Are you sure? My powers... they're a mess."

Eve just smiled at her. "You'll be fine. Show me."

Ellie just stared at her for a few seconds before she looked at the others already practicing around her. "I can't... I don't really have them like I used to anymore. The only thing I've been able to do is this." She said as her entire body slowly started turning to water.

Eve studied her for a few moments before she walked closer to her. "Your powers, they are pretty powerful for this to have happened."

"Pft, yeah right."

"I'm serious. Do you want me to show you that you still possess your other powers?"

"How?"

Eve took a few steps back. "Close your eyes."

Ellie was hesitant but after a moment or so she closed them.

Eve also closed her eyes to focus on Ellie, she gave a small smirk as she took in Ellie's thoughts of uncertainty. When she opened her eyes again her pupils turned to a dark purple as she kept her focus on Ellie still.

"Open them." She told Ellie.

Ellie's eyes slowly opened, and she took in a sharp breath when she saw she was holding a ball of ice in one palm and a burning flame in the other. She looked at them in awe for a moment before a smile crept across her face.

"Whoa." She breathed out before she held her hand with the ice in it out and watched it start to slowly stream across over to where Eve stood.

The ice started forming faster as it glided in two thin strips around Eve and then up towards the sky. It then became more aggressive and crashed down right beside Eve, who didn't flinch. The icy path went into the ground making it start to rumble and make it's way underground closer to Ember and Aurora. Giant shards of ice suddenly emerged from the ground like a wave and went to crash down onto them both when it stopped just above them and instead formed a giant canopy over them.

Eve moved her hands so the ice would follow her instructions and made the icy canopy form into two separate paths of ice once more. She sent them straight at the porch where Scorpius and Raven were watching. The ice covered the stairs, making Raven slip on one of the steps she was standing on and fell on her arse.

Scorpius let out a laugh before he helped her up.

"She's controlling your sister's mind, doesn't that bother you?" Raven said with a bit of a snarl as she ripped her arm from his grasp.

Scorpius just continued to watch the scene before him. "I think it's brilliant."

"Now... for some fire," Eve mumbled to herself as she let the icy powers die off.

She let the flame in Ellie's hand run up Ellie's arm until one whole arm was engulfed in flames.

"I'm going to let you take over." She said to Ellie.

"What? No." she said in a panic.

"You are fine... look at the powers you possess. Come on... show me what you got." She said before she blinked a few times letting her mind disconnect with Ellie's.

Ellie watched the flames grow higher around her arm before she accepted them fully and then felt something she hadn't felt in a long time... confidence. She let the flames engulf her body completely, the burning sensation against her skin made her feel like her old self again, before all of this happened, before the fear. She let the flames travel up to the icy canopy that covered Ember and Aurora and let the coldness from the ice swallow the blazing fire before the canopy started to crack. It started to slowly crumble all around them but before they could hit either of them, Eve let the icy pieces glide across the sky until they got lost in the air, the sun hitting them just right so that they all twinkled.

She left them there as she turned her attention back to Ellie. "That was great."

"Me? That was amazing what you did." Ellie said with a bright smile.

"Please, I didn't control as much as you think. You had more control of that than you think you did. You just need to be more confident; you'll get there."

Scorpius turned to see Noah watching Eve from a few feet away on the porch, unaware of his presence.

"Your sister's powers... they're pretty impressive." He simply said.

Noah looked at him. "Honestly... that's nothing compared to what I know she's capable of. It's almost scary when I think about it."

Scorpius just looked at him and then across the field at Eve.

"Scorpius, come on, we are practicing some more hand to hand combat!" Hermione called him over.

"Yeah, no thanks!" he called back as he watched them all pair up.

"Let's see how your sister does in some physical combat." Raven snapped to Noah before she took off down the steps towards Eve.

"Uh, I don't think that's such a great idea." Noah quickly said.

"It's fine, Raven's pretty decent." Scorpius said.

Noah just shrugged. "Ok... If you say so." He said, taking a few steps back.

Raven strode up to Eve and stepped in front of Ellie. "I'll practice with you, Eve." She said sweetly.

Eve just raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm practicing with Ellie, though."

"Ellie, you mind?" Raven asked.

Ellie just shrugged and stepped back.

Eve locked eyes with Raven. "You seem angry."

"No, I'm just wanting to practice," Raven said casually. "Come on, let me see what's so special about you."

Eve looked taken aback at her comment. "Special?"

Raven just rolled her eyes before she swung her fist at Eve, who moved out of the way. She moved her face again when Raven brought her fist at her once more.

"I don't think we should be partners," Eve said calmly.

"Why? You afraid to get your arse kicked?" she replied as she lifted her leg up to kick her.

Eve blocked both kicks Raven attempted before she went to swing her fist once more. This time Eve grabbed her arm with one hand and lifted her leg up and kicked her in the ribs, making Raven grab her side and let out a growl of pain.

"What are you trying to achieve exactly?" Eve asked her.

"Why don't you just read my mind you freak." Raven snapped as she looked Eve over in disgust.

Eve was surprised to hear those words from Raven, especially since Scorpius had powers also. She saw Raven come at her again, this time she grabbed her arm and twisted it back before she kicked her knee in making her fall to both of them. Raven went to stand back up before Eve hit her in the face with the heel of her palm causing Raven's nose to start pouring blood.

Eve felt extremely guilty for hurting Raven in the first place, but she was only trying to defend herself and stop Raven's advances.

"I'm so sorry Raven, here let me help you." She said holding out her hand.

Raven slapped her hand away. "I don't want your help." She hissed, looking around to make sure nobody could hear her. "I don't want anything from you."

Eve just looked at her, a bit of anger now replacing the guilt she felt a second ago.

She leaned in closer to Raven. "What you do want from me is to keep my mouth shut... isn't it?"

Raven just looked up at her, a sneer covering her face. "Yes." She said through clenched teeth.

Eve just shook her head. "And you look at me in disgust?" she turned to look at Scorpius on the porch watching them. "He seems like a really nice guy... you don't deserve someone like that."

Eve went to take a step away when Raven grabbed her arm firmly. "I swear if you say anything I'll find a way to make sure you live out the rest of your days in that lab like the rat you are."

Eve froze at her comment, her eyes piercing into Raven's with such anger. She swore she would do something she would regret at any moment until she heard Ellie's voice.

"Is everything ok over here?"

Eve ripped her arm from Raven's grip before she looked at Ellie.

"Oh, your nose... it's bleeding," Ellie said.

Eve brought her hand up to her nose and felt the wetness on her fingers before she quickly made her way back up to the house.

"Eve, that was incredible out there with Ellie-"

Eve quickly brushed past Scorpius and cut him off as she went straight to the bathroom to clean her face off. He turned around to see Raven approaching him as she held her side and then had her other hand to her bloody nose. Scorpius couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips.

"What's so funny about me being hurt?" she snapped.

"You were so confident-and then- she kicked your arse." He started laughing before everyone else around started laughing also.

"I'm glad you find it so funny." She mumbled angrily before she stomped inside.

"Aw, Raven, stop, I was just kidding." He said through his laughter as he followed her inside.

The rest of them got lost in conversation as Mrs. Weasley summoned them all to get ready for dinner and they started piling into the house. Ember reached forward to open the door when someone else grabbed it before she could and opened it for her. She looked at Noah as her breath caught in her throat and her eyes met his for a split second.

"Thanks," she lightly mumbled before she quickly walked the rest of the way inside and as far away from Noah as possible.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes and looked up at the same bright light that always filled his room. He let out a defeated sigh as his hope that everything that happened was all a dream faded when he saw the lab room. He looked over at Harry and saw he had fallen asleep on the couch before he finally felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned to Ginny's room and was surprised to see her in there and staring right at him. She was just standing there looking at him, one of her eyes looked a bit more normal, but he could still see the swirl of powers stirring in her pupils.

"Ginny?" he softly called her name as he walked over to the wall between them.

She looked a little more alert and responsive since he saw her only hours ago. She walked up to the glass where he stood and put her hand up to it. He was surprised by the action and his heart filled with hope as he placed his hand where hers was.

"Ginny, is that you? Do you remember anything?"

She just stared at him; her eyes started to glisten with tears as she shook her head.

"No? You don't remember anything? Do you remember me?" he asked, his voice cracking as he feared the answer.

Her lips started to tremble with emotion as she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She tried again, but she couldn't get any words to form, making her frustrated as she closed her eyes tightly and tears ran down her face. She pointed to him, her mouth desperately trying to say his name but still nothing, just her making a small sound that somewhat sounded like the letter of his first name.

"Draco?" he asked her.

She covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a small sob and nodded.

"So, you do remember me?"

She shook her head again and pointed to him then gestured to her face and then her head.

Draco let out a sad sigh. "I look familiar, but you don't know why." He said, rather than asked her.

He didn't bother to wait for her to confirm that's what she meant; he could just feel it. He could barely look at her right now, his heart was breaking way too much to see her this way.

He heard her tap on the glass to get his attention and he looked back up at her. She placed a hand on her stomach and tried to say something.

"B... Ba... Bay." She hung her head in frustration.

"It's ok." Draco said, his voice cracking at her inability to speak.

She brought her tearstained face back up again. "Ba... Baby." She finally got out.

He stared at her, his eyes a bit wide at what she said. "The baby... it's ok?"

She nodded and then pointed at him and then to her stomach making him turn emotional.

"Yeah... that's my baby... our baby." He cried before he quickly wiped his tears away. "What about our children? Don't you remember any of them? Scorpius... Ember... Ava?"

She just gave him a sad look.

"Do you remember how much I love you? Do you remember anything about us?" he said through his fresh tears. "Please Ginny, I need you."

Ginny just shook her head before she backed away from the wall and ran her fingers through her hair. She gripped it tightly in frustration and walked across the room away from him. She may not have remembered him but there was something that bothered her to see him upset and she couldn't handle it. It was like her mind couldn't comprehend the relationship that was or is between them.

"Her mind is still jumbled... just give it time." Came Crystal's voice from outside of his room.

Draco just glared at her. "And you're so sure of that?" he snapped.

"No, but I remember when Eve first got her powers... it took some time before everything was set right again."

"Yeah, but Eve didn't have six different powers forced to interact with one another." He shot back. "That device on her neck... if you take it off how soon will her powers come back?"

Crystal just looked over to where Ginny was sitting in a ball on the floor in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest. "Honestly, the neck device is barely keeping them from surfacing. She is... pretty powerful, so we haven't been able to fully suppress them. While she wears the device, they will be very weak, but not totally absent. In the meantime, between the neck device and a disabling charm every hour, she should hardly be a threat." She explained.

"A threat? You know what Crystal, even with how powerful Ginny is, your father is still a bigger threat. He's the problem here and you... you mean nothing to him; don't you get that? What exactly is your father's plan now?"

She gave him a hard look at the mention of her father's lack of love for her. "He'll want Ginny to practice using her new powers and make sure she can control them all. If she can function like a normal person on them... then he will collect a few blood samples and some other things before he starts to inject the same serum into some of his own people... himself even. He wants to take Minister Beckett's place and run the Ministry."

"There are plenty of people at the Ministry who won't stand for that. He just watched your uncle be killed and didn't even care, you think he'll care if you meet the same fate?" He paused when he saw her lips tremble with emotion. "Listen, Crystal... Eve and Noah, they got out of here and you can too, just help us." Draco begged her.

"Stop!" she yelled. "I've seen what happens... I saw what he did to all those people and where they are now... what he did to my brother." She looked at him. "I'm am terrified of what I'll face if I go against my father. I just can't help you... I can't." she said as she shook her head before quickly leaving the lab.

* * *

Eve was staring at herself in the mirror for what seemed like hours, she didn't realize how much she had missed out on in life from being in that lab. She questioned everything she knew or thought she knew about the world outside. She thought about how even the way she felt about things if they were the right way to feel. Was it normal to laugh at the things she found funny? Was she right to feel angry earlier at Raven's comments? Now that she was on her own she questioned every movement and every interaction she had with people. It was a lonely feeling, but nowhere as lonely as being in that lab.

She snapped her head over to the door when she heard a knock and walked over to open it.

"Raven? What do you want?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Raven asked; her tone calm.

Eve looked at the bruise on her face from their fight earlier and felt bad for her actions. She nodded before she opened the door to let her in.

"Listen, Eve, I just wanted to apologize about the vile things I said earlier. I'm not that kind of person, I just... I don't want to lose Scorpius; I love him too much."

"If you're worried I'll say something... I won't... it's not my business and I have no place doing so."

Raven nodded.

"If I'm not going to tell him and you're not, then you should have no problem, right?" Eve asked.

"Well, that depends, you tell me?"

Eve furrowed her brows. "I don't understand."

"It's just, you two seem to kind of be getting a little close and I think it's a bit inappropriate."

Eve was taken aback by her comment and felt extremely uncomfortable with this conversation. "Are you jealous that I talk to Scorpius?"

"Well, yeah."

"I only talk to Scorpius when he talks to me and just so I can put your mind at ease... I will never and have never thought about Scorpius in that way. I don't even know him; how could you possibly think there was anything to worry about."

"Yeah, it's not really you I'm worried about."

Eve just looked at her, her eyes a bit wide. "You think he-Raven, look... whatever you think might be happening, isn't, and even if you were worried that Scorpius might feel a certain way, it doesn't matter." She looked down at the floor. "I wasn't created for things like that... you're right, I'm just some lab rat. I barely know how to act around people so something as complex as a relationship or feelings in that way will never happen."

Raven was quiet and unsure of what to say. "Well, thanks for understanding. See you in the morning." She said before she left the room.

Eve let out a light sigh before she walked over to her bedroom door and went to close it. Her eyes fell on Aurora and James who she could see through the cracked door across the hall. She just watched them for a moment, they were laughing about something that seemed to be quite amusing. She watched James wrap his arms tightly around her before he kissed her, even through her continuous laughter. Aurora's laughs finally stopped before she kissed him back.

Eve felt this sinking feeling in her stomach as she closed the door to their display of affection for one another. She wasn't sure why but the realization that she would never know that kind of love was hard to take in suddenly as her eyes filled with tears. She hated feeling so vulnerable to all these new feelings, it was overwhelming.

She wiped away the few tears that fell as the pain in head took the place of the pain in her heart and turned in for the night.

* * *

Ember felt Jake give her a light shake as he shifted in the bed next to her. "Ava." He mumbled.

Ember yawned and looked at the clock and saw it was a little past three in the morning before she went to crawl out of the bed.

She felt Jake gently pull her back to him. "Just let Molly grab her." He said so she wouldn't have to leave his embrace.

She gave him a small slap. "No.," she said with a small laugh. "She always gets up for her, I told her I'd get her tonight. Just go back to sleep." She playfully snapped before she peeled his arm from around her waist.

She quietly slipped out of Jake's bedroom and closed the door before she headed across the hall to Ava's room. She froze when she saw Noah coming out Ava's room instead and he stopped to look at her.

"She's fine, she fell asleep again." He said, waving his hand before he went to head back into his room.

Ember quickly walked over to Ava's room and quietly opened the door to peek her head in to check on her. She could see her small body sleeping peacefully before the sound of Noah scoffing made her close it and turn to him.

"What?" she snapped.

"I mean, I get that you don't trust me... but a baby? What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, maybe slip out of here with her and take her to your father as another test subject." She snapped angrily.

She regretted her words immediately and the look on Noah's face made her stomach turn. He just nodded at her words before he walked back into his bedroom. She just stood there again, looking at his closed door and deciding if she should go in there. This time she walked forward and opened the door.

"I'm sorry I said that." She quickly said.

"Don't be... I deserve it after all."

"Don't do that." She snapped suddenly.

"Do what?"

"That!" she said loudly before she realized how loud she was getting and closed the door. "Don't stand there and try and pull the poor me act. You're a piece of shit for what you did to me and I'm glad my brother kicked the shit out you." She went off, unaware of just how much anger she had for him. "Then you show up here after finally realizing what a heartless monster your father is and expect us all to be ok with you being here? Like everything between us is going to go away?" she yelled.

It was when Noah took a step back from her that she realized how in his face she got and took a few steps back herself. She could feel her powers surfacing from how angry she was at him. She was even angrier at the fact that she did feel bad for what he went through at that lab and she hated him more for making her feel that way.

"Ember... I can leave... I will leave if that's what you want."

"Stop it!"

"What am I doing?"

"That! Stop trying to be nice!" she said loudly, her eyes filling with tears. "Don't act like you're someone else now." She said, her voice lowering to nothing more than a loud whisper.

"I'm not trying to act anyway, it's just-" he shook his head as he realized just how much he had hurt her. "I know what I've done to you, how I treated you, I'm a complete asshole for everything and you're right, a real piece of shit. After being in that place and going through all those experiments and all those tests... I'm sorry. That's all I know to say to you... is that I'm fuckin sorry and I know it makes nothing better and nothing right, but that's all I got."

She just stared at him, his voice cracking with emotion and his eyes tearing up at the mention of his time at the lab. Her eyes traveling to the scar on the side of his head where there was a large incision.

"I want to help; I have a lot of information I can share with you guys and I will do anything to destroy my father."

After a few moments, Ember just gave him a small nod at his offer. "Did you ever actually like me, Noah? Or was my last name really the only thing you were after? Because I thought I might love you at one point, but you destroyed my heart... you destroyed my confidence."

Noah didn't think he could feel any more like shit until her last sentence. "You want the truth? Everything?"

She gave him a tearful nod.

"Yes, I really liked you, but after my father knew of your powers... he wanted me to get closer to you and eventually you would have been the one in that lab." He choked the last part out as the vivid memories of what he went through swam through his mind.

Ember had to cover her mouth to quiet the shocked gasp that tried to escape it. Tears sliding down her face as Noah's previous intentions came out.

"I have to go." She said as she quickly turned to leave.

"Wait... there's something else."

She turned back to him, disgust on her face as she looked at him. "What more can there possibly be?" she said through clenched teeth.

Noah rubbed his face roughly before he ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated his next sentence. "I... I slept with Raven."

"WHAT!" she suddenly roared, anger exploding throughout her body.

"After her and Scorpius' fake pregnancy scare when he told her he needed a break... she was angry, and she came over and... " he trailed off.

Ember slapped him so hard her hand was stinging. "You're a fuckin pig." She snarled before she stormed from his room and slammed the door as hard she possibly could.

 **A/N: Ok...so some big stuff happening in this one. Your thoughts? Reviews are much appreciated =D**

 **Also, if you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. I post updates and chapter previews on there or just chat up the stories.**

 **Thanks for reading 3**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to post the new chapter. These past few weeks have just been hectic and I went away for my anniversary. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

"Ember?" Jake called through her bedroom door.

He waited another moment and knocked again and finally walked in when she didn't answer at all.

"Hey, didn't you hear me calling you?" he asked.

She was just sitting on the edge of her bed with an angry look on her face.

"Hello? Ember?" he said before he sat down beside her, finally pulling her from her thoughts.

"Oh, hey."

"What happened to you last night? You never came back to bed."

She just shook her head. "I just... found out some awful news is all."

"Like wh-"

"Shh," she quickly said cutting him off as she listened carefully.

She jumped up from her bed and quickly walked out into the hall and saw Raven heading downstairs. She was so angry at her she thought she might set her on fire right then and there.

"Raven!" she yelled out to her, making her stop and turn towards her. "Come here." She demanded.

Raven raised an eyebrow at Ember's anger before she walked up to her. "What's up?"

Ember tried so hard to keep her cool, she wanted to give Raven the chance to tell Scorpius herself, but her blood was literally boiling beneath her skin. She grabbed her tightly by the shirt with both hands and quickly let her go when Luna came walking past them.

"Are you girls alright?"

Ember quickly nodded.

"Well, breakfast is ready so I'll meet you down there."

"Ok, thanks Luna," Ember said sweetly before her eyes fell on Raven's again. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Raven snapped.

Ember walked back over to her room and gestured for her to walk in.

"You're acting like a complete psycho, there's no way I'm going in there with you."

She didn't expect Ember to move so quickly as she grabbed Raven's arm and dragged her across the hall, letting her hand burn her.

"You're hurting me!" she yelled at her.

"Well, then fuckin walk or I'll burn your flesh off." She said through clenched teeth,

Raven quickly ran into her bedroom where Jake still was.

"Jake, get out," Ember ordered.

"I don't know, I think I should st-"

"GET OUT!" Ember shouted.

He just gave her a hard stare before he nodded and left the room.

Ember shut the door and turned to Raven, her eyes burning into hers. "I know what you did... how you betrayed my brother like that... with Noah, who was my boyfriend at the time." She walked right up to her, fire whipping through her hair.

Raven back up against the wall in fear. "Please don't hurt me."

"Hurt you? I want to kill you, I am trying so hard not to burn you alive from the inside out you fuckin lying, attention seeking whore."

"It was a mistake, please, I'm sorry, please don't say anything to your brother." She begged her through her tears.

She grabbed Raven and pinned one of her arms against the wall as she held a ball of fire in her other hand right in front of her face.

"Are you seriously asking me to cover for you?" she asked in disbelief as she brought the burning flame closer to her face, making Raven whimper in pain.

"Stop, it's burning!" she cried out.

Ember quickly grabbed her wand and placed a silencing charm on her room before she turned back to Raven.

"Perfect, now you don't have to worry about how hot it gets because you're free to scream as loud as you want."

"You wouldn't kill me." Raven spat.

Ember grabbed her upper arm, making her scream out in pain as she felt her flesh bubble beneath her palm.

"No, but I'll come real close to it." She said through clenched teeth. "Now get your arse downstairs and you tell my brother yourself what you did to him." She said as she finally backed away from her.

Raven was crying, both from the painful burn on her arm and the fear she felt and then of course from having to come clean to Scorpius.

"Please Ember, I love him so much, I don't want to lose him." She sobbed.

"You love him? YOU LOVE HIM!" she bellowed with rage. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT LOVE IS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO FOR MY BROTHER? ANYTHING, I'D DIE FOR HIM!" she screamed before she grabbed Raven around the throat and pinned her to the wall once more. "But even more so... I am more than willing to kill anyone who would bring the smallest amount of pain to him." She hissed, her voice filled with malice and disgust. "Don't you dare tell me you love him." She said more calmly before she released her and stormed from the room.

* * *

Draco watched Ginny look at the bookshelf in her room and pull out a book. He watched her furrow her eyebrows in confusion as she tried to make out the words in the book. He was grateful to see Ginny was slowly becoming herself a little bit more than the last time he interacted with her. She acted more human than creation which he was thankful for. He was afraid though that once that neck device came off she would lose all progress she made.

"It's upside down." He said to her.

She looked up at him.

"The book... it's upside down, you have to turn it around." He motioned with his hands for her to turn the book right side up.

She looked down at the book and turned it around before her eyes snapped up to his. "Is that where we met?" she asked him.

Draco was shocked to hear her speak, making a giant smile spread across his face. "What do you mean?"

"This book... you were thinking of us on a train somewhere... did we meet on that train?"

He gave her a small smirk as he continued to think about his and Ginny's encounter on their last train ride to Hogwarts. He laughed at how awkward she was and how she pretended to read her upside-down book.

"No, we knew each other before that."

"I'll remember... eventually." She said to him. "You're worried I won't?"

He nodded.

She frowned and looked down at the floor. "Please don't give up on me." She said in a small voice.

He snapped his eyes up to hers and walked over to the wall between them. "I will never give up on you... ever." He said firmly, making himself tear up a bit.

She nodded.

"Good morning my wonderful creation." Came Jack Adwell's voice from across the room as he and Crystal made their way over to Ginny. "What do you think Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco glared at him. "I think you're a fuckin psychopath."

He just gave a small chuckle at Draco's comment before he turned to Ginny once more. "Today we practice and soon we will have the world at our feet." He stopped and then looked at Harry. "First, there is a matter that must be addressed."

He unlocked Harry's room and took a few steps inside before he pulled out his wand. "On your knees, Mr. Potter."

Harry exchanged a quick look with Draco who had a panicked look on his face before he did as he was told. Adwell walked over and squatted down in front of him. He stared at Harry for a moment before he pulled a knife from his back pocket and held it to his cheek.

"Crystal!" he called to her, his eyes still locked with Harry's, who was giving him a deadly glare.

Crystal walked into the room and stood beside her father. "Yes?" she asked, her voice already cracking.

Adwell stood up and looked at her before he handed her the knife. "Your loyalty is in question... kill him."

"Wait, what?" she asked as she felt her father push the handle of the blade into her loose grasp.

"You heard me... slit his throat. If you're still loyal to me then it shouldn't be a problem. Kill him."

Draco looked at her, he was scared for Harry's life because he knew how faithful Crystal was to her father and how much she feared the consequences if ever she showed she wasn't. Either way, this wasn't going to end well.

"Crystal, don't-"

Draco was cut off when Adwell used the Cruciatus curse on him, bringing him to his knees. It had been so long since he felt this familiar pain, something that at one time was a part of his daily routine. He felt the curse lift before he picked himself up on shaky knees and glanced over to Ginny, who looked as helpless as ever as she took in the scene before her.

"Kill him Crystal and I will never question your loyalty to me again."

"Please Father, I am loyal to you... I've always been."

"Really? Is that why you warned Eve about my intentions for her? And now she and Noah are who knows where. Eve... out there, with those powers?" he shook his head. "You have ten seconds to decide."

Crystal gripped the knife firmly and looked down at Harry in front of her. She grabbed him by the hair and held the knife close to his throat, she could feel how fast his heart was beating just by holding the blade against his pulse.

"Seven... six... five..."

Crystal slowly got to her knees in front of him before her hand fell to her side, the sound of the blade clattering against the floor. Harry locked eyes with her as a look of shock covered her face at the choice she had just made.

"I knew it!" Adwell hissed. "I'll send a guard for you... I'm so disappointed, in you especially," he said before he walked out into the hall to summon a guard.

Harry gently grabbed Crystal's shoulders, making her look up at him, tears falling down her face.

"We're getting out of here... all of us." He told her.

She picked her head up to look at him, her eyes turning to this metallic silver before she reached up and wrapped her hand around his neck device. He watched her arm turn to a solid metal before she snapped it in half and threw it to the floor. She ripped the keycard off from around her neck and tossed it to him before she grabbed a syringe out from one of the medical cabinets.

Harry quickly ran over to Draco and Ginny's rooms to unlock them after he realized Crystal wasn't going down without a fight.

"Inject that into yourself... it will give you a boost." She said to Harry as she tossed him the syringe and ran to the door where two guards made their way inside.

The rest of her body covered in metal before she grabbed one of the guards by the throat and threw him down to the ground, crushing his throat with her hand. The other guard threw spells at her, but the metal covering her body acted as a shield to it all.

Draco ran over to Ginny's room when he saw she didn't make a run towards the door.

"Come on." He said.

She just looked at him, she was unsure.

"Ginny, trust me... I would never hurt you." He said as he held his hand out for her to take.

She looked at his outstretched hand for a second before she took it and felt him give her a small tug to follow him.

Harry quickly stuck the needle into this arm and immediately felt his powers kick in. The feeling was natural and missed as he felt the electricity course through his veins. Adwell came running back into the room and immediately notified the other guards as a loud alarm rang out throughout the room and halls. Harry went straight for Adwell, but he ran before Harry had a chance to get to him as more guards ran into the room.

The adrenaline in the room made everything chaotic as spells flew across the room at all of them. The only thing Draco could make out amongst the electrical waves that filled the room and the constant curses nearly missing his face was Crystal fighting her way through to the door. She savagely beat every guard that came her way as she fought to get into the hall. Harry's powers acted as a defense all around her as they all pushed forward to get down the hall.

Draco's hand was firmly gripped around Ginny's wrist as he dragged her close behind. He was so afraid to let go of her in fear that she might slip away from him forever somehow.

They all quickly piled into the elevator and a guard came running at them as the doors started to close. Harry quickly shot a bolt of lightning at the man, making him fly backward into the wall.

"Alright Potter, stop showing off." Draco snapped sarcastically before he looked at Crystal's face. "You think we're making it out?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, but I can get you guys pretty close. Hopefully, you'll have a small chance, but-" she paused when the elevator suddenly stopped and she looked at the floor they were on. "Fuck."

"What is it?"

"This floor... it's the floor that blocks off all magical abilities. Your powers won't work on this floor Harry... and wand magic is limited." She explained as she frantically pushed the buttons to try and get the elevator to go up further. "It's also guarded with Muggle weapons... we are fucked." She said through her frantic attempts to get the elevator to move.

The small ding of the elevator made them all freeze and grow silent as the doors slowly opened. Crystal pulled her wand out as her powers died down and put up a Protego charm as she peeked out from the elevator. Bullets flew past her as soon as she stuck her head out and she quickly took cover behind the wall in the elevator.

"Shit, this floor is secured by armed guards because of the limited magic... I don't know how much further we could get with them shooting at us like this." Crystal said as she started to give up.

"Stop, we need to try, and we need to fight until the very end." Harry reminded her.

Her wand hand trembled in front of her as she put her Protego charm back up and gave a small nod.

"Ok... get behind me." She said as she quickly ran out of the elevator and ran right at the guard.

He was about to reload his weapon and Crystal took her chance to throw a simple binding charm at him. She quickly led the way around one of the corners and was met with another round of bullets before she quickly took cover behind the wall.

Draco glanced down at Ginny, who he had tightly against him as he shielded her body with his. She looked scared, but the tight grasp she had on his shirt told him that she trusted him and that meant everything to him.

They all suddenly looked up at this little red ball of light that hovered above them for a moment before it popped, and a loud siren was heard throughout the hall. They all fell to their knees as it painfully filled their ears.

Draco could hardly keep his eyes opened as the sound ripped through his head. He knew their escape had just come to an end when he could make out the form of Jack Adwell approaching them. It wasn't until Crystal and Harry had a neck device securely around them that the siren came to a stop.

He just shook his head as he looked at Crystal. "You were the one person who I thought would never betray me."

Draco watched her eyes spill tears at his words, he wanted to kill Adwell more than anything. He remembered how heartless his father was and Adwell was no different.

"I hate when you all force me to do things I hate," Adwell said he reached over and grabbed one of the guard's guns and pointed it at Crystal's head.

Before Draco could yell or object or do anything, the sound of the gun going off rang in his ears. His body jumped at the sound and he tightly shut his eyes as he heard Crystal fall to the floor. He could feel a few warm drops of her blood hit his face, his fingers dug into Ginny as she clung to him even tighter at the scene before her.

He opened them after a moment and looked down at Crystal's body. He hated to even think it, but he wondered if this outcome was better for her than being taken downstairs for further experimentation. He looked over to Harry, he looked completely defeated... they both did. The last hope they had of getting out of there had just been shot down before their eyes.

"You can come with me dear," Adwell said as he grabbed Ginny from Draco's grasp.

He pulled her back but when one of the guards held their weapon up to him he backed off.

"It's time you both accept the fact that you're not going anywhere. Nobody in here will help you, your children aren't coming."

"You don't know that." Harry snapped.

"They can't come if they're all dead." Adwell laughed.

"You're lying." Draco spat.

"Am I?"

The room grew silent before Adwell motioned for the guards to bring Harry and Draco back downstairs.

* * *

Ember sat on the porch and watched the others practicing on the field, her anger had reached its breaking point. She had given Raven all day to come clean and she still hadn't said a word to her brother. Instead, Ember watched her all day being as affectionate as ever towards Scorpius and it just made her angrier. She had no choice but to watch from the porch because if she had participated she was positive she would have really hurt someone or killed them.

She heard Raven laughing at something Scorpius said to her and watched as she playfully slapped him before reaching up and running her fingers through his hair.

"She's not going to tell him."

Ember turned to look at Eve. "Tell him what?" she asked, unsure if Eve was talking about the same thing she was thinking about.

Eve just gave her a look. "I know you're waiting for her to say something, but I've been waiting for her to say something too... she won't."

"How long have you known?"

"Just a day or two, but it's not my place to say anything."

Ember just stared at her. "Make her tell him."

"What?"

"You can do that, right? Make her tell him what she did." Ember demanded.

Eve shook her head. "No, I won't do something like that."

"Come on you lot, dinner is ready!" Called Molly from the door.

"Great, now I need to sit through dinner with this bitch," Ember mumbled as she made her way inside.

She sat beside Eve as she watched the rest of them pile into the house and take a seat at the table. She locked eyes with Raven for a moment, who seemed to act as if their conversation earlier never happened. Raven had purposely been at Scorpius' side all day to avoid being alone with Ember.

The conversation started up amongst everyone at the table, but Ember could only focus on the fake act Raven put up. She frowned a bit as she thought about her brother and everything he's been through these past few weeks. She didn't want to see him get hurt, but she also didn't want him being lied to by someone she knew he loved.

Eve could feel the heat radiating off Ember, but she feared if she attempted to tell Ember to calm down she might just explode.

"So, Matthew will be back in a day or two hopefully with some info from another inside source. The only thing is, this other source isn't as exposed to Adwell's lab as much as Matthew was so it might not be much info at all. Anyway, once he returns we will probably make a move." Hermione explained. "He was trying to get some details on the actual building, maybe a layout or something. Eve, you said you could help with that? And Noah?"

Eve nodded.

"Speaking of Noah... where is he?" Ember specifically asked Raven.

Raven just looked at her and shrugged. "Why would I know, he's probably upstairs in his room... waiting for you." She mumbled the last part.

"That's it," Ember said through clenched teeth as she launched herself over the table and right on top of Raven making the chair she was sitting in fall backward.

Everything happened so fast that it took everyone a moment to process what was happening as Ember swung her fist down against Raven's face. She went to swing it again but felt someone roughly grab her and pull her back.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Ember?" Scorpius yelled out at her angrily as he helped Raven up from the floor.

"Me? She's the one who's been keeping all these secrets from you. Tell him, Raven! Tell him how you slept with Noah!"

There were a few gasps all around the room at the sudden news.

"Raven?" Blaise said, shock on his face at his daughter's actions.

The look on Scorpius' face made Ember's heart crumble to tiny bits. He literally looked like someone ripped his heart out and stomped on it as he turned back to Raven. The shocked expression on his face suddenly turned to anger.

"Is it true?" he asked her.

Raven didn't say anything, just silently let her tears fall down her face.

He turned to Eve. "Is it true!" he yelled to her, knowing she was well aware of what secrets Raven had been keeping from him.

She slowly nodded.

"Right after she also lied to you about her possibly being pregnant," Ember added as she looked at Raven with disgust.

"Raven, what the hell are they talking about? Please tell me this isn't true?" Blaise said to her.

Scorpius couldn't even look at Raven right now or listen to anything else that was being said, instead, his anger turned to Noah up in his room and he quickly took the steps two at a time to get to him. A crowd of people followed close behind, but Ember was on his heels to keep him from doing something he would regret... again.

Scorpius kicked Noah's bedroom door in so hard, it made a hole in the wall it hit. Noah already knew why Scorpius was on him like this, he knew it was only a matter of time before the truth got out. He held his hands out in an attempt to explain, but there was nothing to say.

Scorpius grabbed him roughly by the shirt and punched him hard in the face making him stagger back against the wall and slide to the floor.

"You're fuckin dead this time," Scorpius growled out through clenched teeth as he advanced on him again.

He pushed Ember back off of him with little effort as she attempted to grab him back. His anger was overpowering him at the moment. Noah picked himself up and used the wall behind him to hold his wobbly body up as Scorpius went to close the distance between them.

Before he could take another step, Eve quickly ran in front of him and filled the space between him and Noah.

"Move." He warned her as he took a step closer.

She held her hand out to stop him, her fingertips barely touching his chest as he tried to walk past her.

"Scorpius, stop." She said calmly.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" he growled as he used his body to shove her aside.

This time she forcefully pushed her palm against his chest and pushed him away. "I said to stop... leave him alone." She warned.

"Move... now." He demanded, his voice deadly as his face moved closer to hers, his eyes turning to ice.

Eve felt his body beneath her hand turn cold as she glared up at him. "No," she said firmly, her eyes turning to a deep purple as she challenged him to come any closer.

"Guys, enough!" Hermione yelled as she pulled her wand out.

Scorpius sneered at Eve as her eyes narrowed a bit, he could feel the tiny bit of space between her hand and his chest turning to this invisible pressure that was ready to push him back. The sound of frost forming and ice cracking filled his ears as his anger continued to rise and his powers started filling the room.

Eve's eyes were locked with his, she swore she could feel his icy pupils piercing into hers as the palm of her hand and fingers started to tremble from how cold his body turned.

"ENOUGH!" Hermione yelled as she pointed her wand to them both. "Back off Scorpius... NOW!"

After neither of them seemed to be letting up on their powers, Hermione hit them both with a disabling charm. Ron took this opportunity to grab Scorpius away from Eve and Noah, but he quickly ripped his arms free from him and stormed out of the room.

He stopped to look at Blaise. "Looks like you win after all... she's all yours." He spat as he glanced at Raven. "And believe me, this one... I'm happy to lose." He hissed before he walked into his bedroom and slammed the door shut.

* * *

The sound of a gunshot kept ringing through Draco's head no matter how many times he tried to clear his mind of the events from earlier. He sat up on his bed and rubbed his face roughly before he glanced over at Harry.

"You ok?"

Harry just glanced over at him from the couch he laid back on, staring up at the ceiling deep in thought. "Not really... you?"

"No." he sighed. "I can't get that image out of my head."

Harry sat up to look at him. "I know."

They both turned to the two guards walking into the room with Ginny as they led her back to her room.

"Ginny! Are you ok?" Draco asked as he quickly made his way over to the wall between them.

He could tell something was off, all the progress she seemed to have made with possibly becoming more like herself was completely absent. She just stood there in the middle of her room, staring off into space.

"Ginny! Hey, Ginny!" he called to her as he slammed his hands on the glass to get her attention.

She finally turned to him; her bloodshot eyes were glistening with tears as she looked him over.

"Draco?"

"YES! Yes, it's Draco." He reassured her as he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

She walked closer to him; a bit of fear covered her face. "They did something to me." She whispered to him, her lips trembling and her hands shaking.

"What did they do?"

She carefully pulled her hair back to reveal a small incision behind her ear and down her neck a bit.

"Fuck," Draco growled out.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he tried to get a look at Ginny.

"It has to be that implant... like the one Eve had."

"What does that mean?" she asked in a panic.

He just looked at her, unsure of what to say.

She let out a small whimper before she looked at him again. "I'm sorry I don't remember everything... I will, please believe that. Don't look at me like you've given up... you told me you would never give up on me. Do you still feel that way?" she choked out through her emotional meltdown.

He slowly nodded as his eyes looked her over and took everything in. She was scared and he could tell she felt alone and on her own in all of this. Even with fear on her face and tears in her eyes, he was completely captivated by her. He couldn't look away; she gave him hope even though there was nothing left to have hope for. He wanted to save her... not even himself... just her. He wanted her to get out of here, whether that was with him or not.

She started to cry harder as she brought her trembling hand up to her head. "It hurts so bad... I hear... everything." She choked out before she slid to the floor in a ball of tears and pain.

"Oh, my dear, there, there now." Came Adwell's voice as he walked over to Ginny's room and unlocked it. "It's painful now, but you'll get used to it."

Draco just sneered at him. "You killed your own daughter." He couldn't help the disgust he felt by Adwell's actions.

"She wasn't loyal to me... you have brainwashed both Eve and Crystal to help you and quite frankly I've had enough of it." He said as he pulled Ginny up from the ball of sobs she was in. "She is my creation now, your Ginny died on that table. You think you'll get through to her... but let me show you what your precious Ginny becomes as soon as this device comes off." He said as he went to reach for her neck piece.

"Wait!" Draco yelled out.

Adwell stopped and looked at him with an evil smirk.

"Will it affect her memory again?" he asked as he feared what would happen if Ginny's powers were fully in effect.

"Guess we'll see," Adwell said through a grin as he removed the device.

The device was barely off her neck when her powers completely surfaced. Her eyes immediately turned to those thick milky ones when Draco first saw her come back from the dead. The floor beneath her turned to ice, the air around her was filled with electricity and the veins throughout her body illuminated with silver and gold as metal and fire fought to overpower each other.

Draco backed away from the wall as she turned into something he didn't want to get in the way of. He could feel the static shock all over his body and watched the hairs on his arm stand up before he turned to see the same thing was happening to Harry. He turned back to Adwell when he heard him give a small chuckle.

"See, Ginny won't attack me... not as long as I have this." He said as he pointed to behind his ear where he had a similar implant to Ginny's. "She won't be able to use any of her mind control powers on me as long as I have this. She has one more so to keep her powers from completely getting out of control. You see how powerful she is without the neck device... even with the implant stabilizing them."

He left her room and locked her in.

"Aren't you going to put her neck device back on?" Harry asked with a bit of panic.

"I think I'll let her run free a bit for now... see, she won't hurt me, but you two... " he trailed off before he turned and headed towards the door. "Hopefully you'll be alive when I return!" he called out to them before leaving.

Ginny walked through the wall into Draco's room making him back up all the way into the corner as far from her as possible.

"Ginny, it's me, it's Draco-"

He flinched when she walked up to him and slowly brought her hands up to each side of his head. He could feel her trying to enter his mind as a small swirl of purple started to fill her eyes. He didn't have to see Harry behind him to know he was just as scared as he was right now.

He was surprised when Ginny stepped back and looked at him, some sadness in her eyes before he started to watch the room around them change. It took him a moment to take in what he was looking at, in fact, it was more that he couldn't believe what he was looking at. He was in his room at the Manor before everything... before he was with Ginny. It was a few weeks before he had shared that train ride with her... it was one of the darkest days of his past and he hated that she brought him here.

He watched himself laying on the floor of his room in a puddle of his own blood. He remembered the day like it was yesterday, the way his father would beat him or use the Cruciatus curse on him until he was near death or passed out. He watched his father standing over him just staring down at his beaten form as he tried to sit up from the floor he had collapsed on.

Lucius put his foot on Draco's chest and pushed him back down to the floor before he could get up. "Stay down Boy." He spat before he looked him over once more and shook his head. "To think I put so much faith in you... so much trust. There's nothing left for you at that school Draco. The sooner you realize that the better and then you can start being of proper use to me than wasting away in this room. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is that my own son isn't out there with me during these raids?"

"I rather die than follow you." Draco choked out through the pain that still ran through his body.

His father just sneered at him before stomping hard on his ribs which he knew already to be cracked or broken from the beating he just received moments ago. He released a painful scream that rang throughout the room and through Draco's ears as he watched the memory before him.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, as he grabbed Ginny roughly by the arms.

The sudden contact of his hands on her body made her take in a sharp breath in as memories filled her head... memories of her and Draco. She looked up at him, her eyes wide before they turned to a honey brown color.

"Draco?"

He looked at her more closely, disbelief on his face as he hoped it was his Ginny he was seeing.

"Ginny?"

"What is wrong with me? Please don't let me go." She frantically cried as she pulled him closer to her.

He hugged her tightly, the feel of her body against his made the memory he just relived a bit more bearable. He looked back down at her though and her beautiful amber eyes started to fade again as her powers took over once more. He knew he should let her go but he didn't want to. If Ginny was going to hurt him or even kill him, he wanted to at least have her in his arms one last time.

It was Ginny though that pulled away and she seemed a bit scared to be close to him. She just backed away to the corner of his room and kept her distance from him.

"No, no, no, Ginny dear!" came Adwell's voice once more as he walked back into the room and saw Draco was unharmed. "You're supposed to hurt him... kill him even. What's wrong with you?" he spat; a bit angry to see Draco was left unscathed.

He opened Draco's room to retrieve Ginny, who didn't put up a fight when he motioned for her to follow him.

"I think it's time you stay in a different room. Mr. Malfoy, don't get used to your wife going easy on you... I'll fix that. It's time you two were separated for a while."

He dragged Ginny with him out of the lab, the last thing Draco saw was Ginny looking back at him, still a glimmer of amber in her pupils as she was pulled through the doors.

* * *

"Scorpius?" Ember called through the cracked doorway as she peeked inside.

He was just laying on his bed with his hands folded behind his head staring up at the ceiling. She walked into his bedroom cautiously, unsure of how riled up he was still from the events earlier.

"What do you want?" he asked her, his tone short.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for making a scene like that. It wasn't right, I was just so angry at her." She said as she hung her head.

Scorpius glanced over to her, he could see her apology was genuine, but it wasn't her he was upset with... at all really. He gave a hard sigh before he sat up and looked at her again.

"I miss Mum and Dad." Was all he said.

She met his gaze, her eyes filling with tears at his comment. "Me too... a lot actually." She choked out before she sat down beside him.

She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

"It's fucked up what Raven did, but I feel like I have no time to think about that. I just want to save Mum and Dad... that's it. I can deal with all that stuff later."

"You'll be able to do that? Just suppress it all?"

"Pft, hell no, but I'll try... I just want things back to normal again."

"Were they ever really normal to begin with?" Ember joked.

He gave her a small smirk before there was a small knock on the open door to his room.

"Eve... what do you want?" Scorpius demanded; his tone cold.

His tone didn't faze her in the slightest. "I just wanted to say that I'm very sorry about what happened between you and Raven... it was a horrible thing for someone to do." She took a step into his bedroom and locked eyes with him. "But I am not sorry for keeping you from harming my brother."

They both stared at each other for a few moments, the silence was unbearable and made Ember hold her breath almost the entire time.

Scorpius gave her a slight sneer before it softened a bit. "Fine... fair enough. If there's nothing else then get out."

"Actually, there is one other thing I'd like to share with you both."

Scorpius and Ember exchanged a look before they watched Eve walk over to them. She placed one hand in front of Ember and the other in front of Scorpius before she concentrated on one of her own memories and let it fill the room. Scorpius and Ember watched the room around them change until they were standing in Adwell's lab. The first thing they both noticed was their parents and Harry in their rooms.

"Mum? Dad? What is this?" Ember asked, her watery eyes finally spilling the tears that welled in them.

"This is one of the memories I have of them... I don't have many nice ones because nothing nice ever happened there." She said in a small voice.

They both took in their parents and Harry's condition. Ginny's bruised face, Draco's broken wrist and hand and Harry's exhausted appearance. They were all just pacing their rooms, their mother wiping a few tears every now and again.

"Sometimes I would just watch them... especially your parents, they love each other so much..." Eve trailed off as she watched the memory again.

"Ginny, please stay strong... you have to... for our children... for yourself... for me," Draco told her.

She looked up at him through her tears and gave a small nod. "I'm trying, I just miss them so much... what if we never see them again? What if they're already dead?" she cried a bit harder.

"They are not dead... they're stronger than that," Draco reassured her.

The memory faded from the room and Eve's eyes fell on Scorpius and Ember again. They turned emotional from the memory.

"I don't know a lot... not when it comes to social interaction anyway, but I know that your parents... Harry... they are good people. I wanted you to see this because with everything going on here, I don't want us to lose sight of what the goal is."

They both gave her a tearful nod before she smiled at them and turned to leave. Her hand quickly wiping the blood that was about to fall from her nose.

"Eve."

She looked at Scorpius.

"Thanks."

She gave a small nod before she quickly left his room.

* * *

Silence filled the dimly lit room as he stared out the window and watched the moonlight shimmer across the lake out back. Horrible memories constantly filled his head of what he endured in his father's lab. A small knock on the door made him jump as he was lost in his thoughts, making him glance at the clock to see it was a little past two in the morning. The fact that anyone was knocking on his door was a surprise.

He heard the door slowly open and a small voice made him look up. "Noah?" came Riley's voice as she slipped inside his room.

"Riley? What's wrong?" he asked, shocked that she was even speaking to him.

She walked over and took a seat beside him and glanced out the window. He could see the moonlight illuminating her tearstained face. She didn't answer him, and he really didn't need an answer. He knew what probably ran through her head constantly, the same torture he went through. They sat there in silence for a few minutes with an occasional sniffle from Riley.

"They keep asking me what's wrong, but... I just... I can't explain it to them. I could never make them understand what I went through... what I feel inside me right now." She whimpered out.

He gave her a sad look; he didn't think he could feel so much remorse for people.

"I know you feel it too... don't you?" she asked him.

He looked at her for a moment before he nodded. "He tried to force powers into me... they wouldn't take. Something went wrong... something is wrong with me." He said softly.

She wiped a few of her tears. "And they tried to force powers out of me... but something went wrong also... something is wrong, I can feel it."

He locked eyes with her as they turned to a deep black.

"Something is trying to get out." She whispered to him.

Noah felt chills run down his spine at her words before he watched her lean in closer to look at him.

Riley took in his bloodshot eyes and the dark circles under them. His complexion was paler than normal, and he just had a rundown look about him.

"Riley, you should let my sister take a look at you-"

"Why?" she snapped.

"Because she might be able to help with... whatever it is that's wrong with you."

"And what about you?" she looked him over once more.

"Me? There's nothing to help with... I'm fine." He shrugged. "But you need to start letting your family in again. Pushing them away isn't the answer, but you need to talk to someone."

"I'm talking to you." She pointed out as her eyes turned back to their normal color.

"Yeah, I'm the last person you should be talking to, in fact, you should get out of here before your brother or someone sees you in here." He quickly said as he waved for her to leave his room.

"Alright, relax I'm leaving." She said as she got up and walked to the door with him. She wiped the last of her tears from her face as her eyes started to finally dry. "Just one more thing before I leave." She said.

"And what's that?" he snapped impatiently.

She slapped him hard across the face.

"What the fuck was that for?" he growled out in anger.

"That's for hurting my sister and brother." She snarled at him before her face softened a bit. "Night, Noah." She said more sweetly before she walked back to her bedroom.

* * *

Another flash went off in front of her, the sound of multiple pictures being snapped filled her ears. She felt someone put their arm around her and pull her closer to pose with them in the picture. The entire Ministry was full of conversation that took place all around her as she watched Jack Adwell shaking hands with a few different people. Some people were congratulating him on his success and other's just introducing themselves as they took a closer look at her.

"This is extraordinary, this is a big accomplishment for you Jack and for the Ministry as well." Said one of the men.

The conversation continued between reporters as Ginny felt someone touch the neck device she was wearing.

"How sure are you that this thing will keep her powers in check?" a man asked.

"I am confident that it will never fail, but as an extra precaution she also has an implant behind her ear that keeps everything balanced," Adwell answered.

"How soon before you can start using her blood for the new serums?"

"I have already started to experiment with it, so hopefully we will be making some progress soon."

"Mrs. Malfoy, how does it feel to be a part of something this big?"

Ginny just looked at the woman who asked her the question.

"Mrs. Malfoy, what does your family have to say about your new powers?"

There were so many different questions being thrown at her and she didn't know how to answer a single one.

"Mrs. Malfoy isn't taking any questions right now. Remember, her body is still getting used to so many different powers, so she is still adjusting mentally, emotionally and physically, of course." Adwell answered with a smile. "Isn't that right, Ginny?"

She looked at him and gave a small forced smile before she nodded to the crowd.

"Mr. Adwell, it's no secret that many people at the Ministry do not support you or your plans to improve the Ministry's defense. I myself do not think this is the answer or hardly a success at all. You have taken Harry Potter, Draco, and Ginny Malfoy to your lab and nobody has seen them for almost two months and then you deliver this to us after all this time? Are we expected to believe that you are aren't doing anything unethical at that lab of yours and are forcing people to stay there against their will?" asked a reporter.

Adwell slightly sneered at the comment before he composed himself. "Let me clarify some things for you. Previous to Minister Beckett's death he was well aware of my plans to up the Ministry's security and defense. Beckett himself has been to Adwell Labs to see what really goes on there and I assure you he was nothing more than impressed with how things are being run there. As for Mr. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, they willingly submitted themselves for evaluation and testing and their current status is confidential."

"What about their children? Nobody has seen them. Should we assume you have them kept there as well?"

"I can assure you that none of the Malfoy or Potter children are in my custody. It is true though that they were trying to be apprehended, but that was for the safety of all of us. Let's not forget the danger they all pose to the Wizarding and Muggle world. It was exhibited several times that there is no control, especially from their children. They chose to run from the Ministry instead, which only proves how dangerous they really can be... with that being said, if anyone does see these individuals, it is imperative that the Ministry is made aware of it." He paused for a moment as he saw the look of uncertainty on some faces. "Shall we go back eighteen years ago and remember how many people were accidentally killed by these uncontrollable powers? It is my only goal to help develop these extraordinary gifts these people have but keep them controlled as well. We could all benefit in the end if the proper precautions and evaluations are done."

"Mr. Adwell, is it true you are seeking the Minister's position?"

"Yes, I worked closely with Minister Beckett and we shared a lot of the same vision of what we thought best for the Ministry. It is my hope that with this new achievement." He stopped and gestured to Ginny. "I can prove that we can make the Ministry as solid as ever."

He put his hand up to stop any more questions as he gestured for Ginny to follow him through the crowd. She followed close behind him until she felt someone grab her upper arm and pull her aside.

"Ginny, it's me... Neville."

She looked at him. "Who?"

"What did they do to you? Where are the children? Are Draco and Harry alive? Tell me everything you can." He berated her with questions as he knew he only had a second to speak to her.

She pulled her arm slowly away from him before she started to walk back over to Mr. Adwell who just seemed to notice she wasn't beside him.

"Ginny, wait." Neville pulled her back to him. "Tell me anything... just something so I know you're ok."

She looked into his eyes before she felt Adwell gently put his arm around her. "Come on dear, can't have you wandering off like that. You're much too valuable to me."

"Can I see Harry and Draco?" Neville asked Adwell him before he could leave.

"I'm afraid they aren't allowed visitors at this time."

"Well, when will they be allowed visitors?" Neville demanded an answer.

Adwell stopped and looked at him. "Neville Longbottom, right?" he asked as he walked closer to him. "You fought alongside them when Lucius was at large, didn't you?" a wide smile spread across his face. "You wouldn't happen to know any special hiding places those children of theirs would be... would you?"

"Like I'd tell you if I did," Neville said through clenched teeth.

Adwell just nodded. "We'll see." He said before he put his arm out for Ginny to walk in front of him.

Neville watched her turn back to look at him one last time as she desperately tried to make sense of the conversation he just had with her.

 **A/N: Ok, so things are definitely going to pick up in the next chapter or two, especially now that Adwell has brought Ginny into the public eye. I'm sorry if the story seems to be dragging a bit, but I really like to write where it shows character development and so that genuine emotion can be felt through my writing. I like to make sure I cover all loose ends and everything makes sense. I would love some feedback from you all on the new developments this chapter =D**

 **Also, if you haven't joined my Facebook group yet the link can be found on my profile page. I post chapter updates and previews on there and just discuss the story overall.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Ok, I got this chapter a lot sooner than I thought and it's a bigger one, over 9k words. I just want to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story and any comments that you guys leave. They mean so much to me =)**

Scorpius made his way downstairs after giving up on sleep for the night once the clock read three in the morning. He was surprised to see Eve awake at the kitchen table with what looked like a large map in front of her.

"What are you doing? And more importantly, why aren't you asleep?" he asked as he filled the tea kettle with water and turned the stove on before he took a seat across from her.

"I'm drawing out a map of my father's lab." She simply said before she glanced up at him. "I'd ask why you're awake, but I think I have an idea or two." She said with a small smile before going back to her map.

He watched her for a few moments, her concentration was almost unbreakable. He wished he could be as focused as she was right now. He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips as her long brown ponytail kept slipping over her shoulder and onto the map she kept trying to draw out. He wondered how sheltered of a life she really lived and just how much social interaction she never was exposed to. Had she ever kissed someone before? Felt love for anyone, even something as simple as a hug or even had a sexual desire for another person. It's not like she wasn't attractive, in fact, she was quite beautiful and had a mysteriousness about her. He was a bit envious of her at the moment with all the different emotions he was feeling from Raven's betrayal, he would give anything to be oblivious to everything he felt.

He suddenly remembered Eve could read his mind and he cleared his throat when he saw her eyes glance up at him.

"Um..." he trailed off as words escaped him.

"No, I haven't ever kissed anyone nor been attracted to someone in such a way that I felt I had to rip my clothes off for them. Oh, and thank you for the compliment." She said with a smile before she turned towards the whistling tea kettle.

"Sorry." He mumbled as he went to get up, but stopped when he watched the tea kettle pour itself into his mug and then it hovered over to him. "Thanks," he added. "Can you make some sugar hover over here too? Maybe a spoon while you're at it?"

She used her powers to send the sugar and spoon over to him before she gave a small laugh. "It's fine Scorpius, you'd be surprised by the stuff I hear around here."

"Really? Like what?" he asked, leaning in a bit closer.

She hesitated for a moment before she double checked to make sure they were alone. "Well, for starters... do you know that your cousin Rose has a huge crush on James? She lowkey can't stand Aurora because of it. Just recently she got a glimpse of James changing with his door open one day and she hasn't stopped thinking about it since." She said as she started giggling making Scorpius fall into a fit of laughter.

"Don't even get me started on the dirty thoughts James has about Aurora." She added.

"Yeah, don't want to hear that."

"Or the even dirtier thoughts Aurora has about him." She added.

"And definitely don't want to hear that." He laughed.

"And let's see what else. Oh, Hugo sometimes glances at Ember's breast when she's not looking."

"What? That's his cousin."

Eve shrugged. "He doesn't care, he's a thirteen-year-old boy, boobs are boobs to him."

"I suppose," Scorpius mumbled.

"See, that's why you're looking at mine." She added.

"What? I am not." He said as he looked straight at her chest. "Well, I mean, I am now because you said that." He said defensively.

She just started to laugh at how riled up he got. "Relax, I'm just kidding."

"Oh, so joking you can do?" he drawled before he finally laughed along with her.

They both got lost in conversation, most of it was about the map she had drawn out in front of her, but eventually, it turned more casual. One of the things Scorpius enjoyed most about talking to Eve was that a lot of the conversation they had was about things she was hearing about for the first time or knew nothing of. The simplest of things like riding a broom or playing Quidditch.

"... then when I found out Riley was going to be a girl and not a boy I was so upset I literally ran away from home."

"Like actually ran away?" Eve laughed. "Where did you go?"

"Where do you think? I went to Harry and Luna's." he laughed, making her giggle harder. "I just really was getting sick of having so many sisters, but hopefully with this new baby I might actually get a brother." He said with a smug look.

She bit her lip at his comment.

"What? You know what it is, don't you?" he asked her.

She shook her head as she desperately tried to stifle her laughs.

"It's a girl... isn't it?"

She bit her lip even harder before she slowly started to nod. They both exchanged a look as it grew silent before they fell into another round of laughter.

"Well good morning you two, it's nice to see someone up before me." Came Molly's voice as she walked into the kitchen with Ava on her hip.

"What time is it?" Eve asked.

"Almost six," Molly answered.

"Geez, I've been down here that long?" Scorpius mumbled to himself before he glanced at Eve, who gave him a small smile.

"I think I'm going to lay down for a bit before breakfast," Eve said as she gathered her things from the table and quickly headed upstairs.

"What a lovely girl that Eve is," Molly said as she placed Ava in her highchair.

"Yeah, she's cool I guess," Scorpius said as he pulled himself up on the counter as Molly started fixing herself a cup of tea.

"Really? That's not what you thought the other night when you two were ready to fight each other." She said, giving him a disappointing glare.

"I was angry... I just wanted to pulverize Noah." He shrugged.

"Well, either way, it's nice to hear you laughing for once. I don't like seeing you so down. That drama with Raven needs to be the furthest from your mind at a time like this."

"I know Grandma... I wish it was that simple."

"Has Raven tried to speak to you yet?"

"Once or twice but I can't even look at her." He fell silent for a moment or two. "What do you think Mum and Dad would say to me at a time like this?"

She gave him a small smirk. "Oh, this one has your mother written all over it, she'd do all the talking and Draco would probably just be there for emotional support and say something like-"

"Your mother's right son," they both said together before they started laughing.

Their laughing was cut short by a sudden knock on the front door causing them both to freeze. Scorpius walked into the foyer and walked a bit closer to the door in hopes that the person knocking would identify themselves.

"It's Matthew!" Matthew called through the closed door, making Scorpius give a sigh of relief.

"Hey, I thought you weren't due back for another day," Scorpius said as he opened the door for him.

"I know, but I have some news and I really need you to get everyone down here as soon as possible."

Scorpius gave him a quick nod before he ran upstairs to gather everyone up. He didn't get far as he ran into Eve again as she was leaving the bathroom.

"Hey, Matthew showed up, he wants us downstairs."

She nodded before she quickly went to walk into her bedroom.

"I thought you were going to lay down. Are you ok?" he asked, noticing her bloody nose.

"Yeah, it's just..." she trailed off before she looked around to make sure they were still alone before she walked closer to him. "It's from my powers... they are getting stronger and without that implant, it's almost like learning to control them all over again."

"Is there something I can do to help?"

She shook her head as silence filled the hall. "I'll help gather everyone." She said softly before they split up.

After a few minutes, everyone was piled into the dining room and the tension was through the roof as Raven and Noah had also joined in for the meeting.

"I came as soon I picked up a copy of the daily prophet this morning." Matthew started. "Just a fair warning... this may be a bit alarming." He said before he slid a copy of it over to them.

The front page showed a picture of Adwell and Ginny as he showed off his new creation to the Ministry. Ember grabbed the paper closer to her and covered her mouth to quiet the gasp that tried to escape her mouth.

"Why does she look like that? What's wrong with her?" she choked out.

It was Eve who snatched the paper from her hands and looked at it closely before she looked at Noah. "He did it... it worked." She said in barely a whisper.

"So that experiment didn't kill her and now she has six different powers inside of her?" Ron asked.

Eve was silent, the only thing she could think about was what was to come now that her father successfully found a host for this cocktail of powers.

"Why is she just standing there letting him show her off?" Aurora asked as she looked over Eve's shoulder at the moving picture.

There were a lot of questions that erupted from the around the table at seeing Ginny on the front page of the paper. It was more alarming to see her in such a state, it was obviously their mother but there was something so unfamiliar about her.

"What about my dad or Harry... do you know if they're alive?" Scorpius asked.

Matthew glanced over to Eve and Noah before he cleared his throat. "Well-"

"What about her?" Eve cut him off before he could continue.

"What about who?" Matthew asked as he tried to clear his mind before Eve could read it any further.

"You know who? What happened to Crystal? What happened to my sister!" Eve demanded as she jumped up from her seat.

He gave her a sad look before he let out a soft sigh. "Two days ago she tried to help them escape... your father killed her."

Eve's heart stopped as she turned to Noah, the tears in his eyes made her's fall. She took a few steps away from the table before she quickly left the room with Noah behind her. The room was filled with silence before Matthew spoke up again.

"As far as I know... they are all alive still, but for how much longer I can't be sure. I only know as much as I do because one of the Aurors that were my inside source was called to Adwell Labs for added security."

"What have you found out about the area? I've only apparated to the doors of that place but have never traveled on foot there," Hermione explained.

"Yes, about that... the lab is actually on an island."

"An island?" Blaise chimed in. "The last bit I did know of Adwell Labs was that it wasn't far from the Ministry."

"You're not completely wrong, that was just a front and more of a visitor entrance. Once you enter the elevator it takes you to the real location which is on an island not far off the coastline." Matthew explained. "The room that they are being kept in is twenty floors underground. Every hallway... every door is secured."

"Eve has been drawing a layout of the facility, between that and the use of her powers we could get a decent idea of what we're facing," Scorpius said.

Matthew nodded at the information. "Things have gotten sloppy at the lab it seems and Adwell is a loose cannon. He will do anything for power and kill anyone who stands in his way... even gun down his own daughter." He said with a heavy sigh. "Adwell is expected to be at a meeting at the Ministry in three days... that is when I think we should attempt to break into the lab. We need to move quickly now that he has Ginny's blood to turn whoever he wants into a powerful witch or wizard. It's more than just saving your parents at this point..." he trailed off.

* * *

"Eve?" he called her name as she walked back and forth across the bathroom getting supplies and addressing his infected incision. "Eve?" Noah called to her again.

"Here, drink this... it will help with the infection and then take this one for the pain." She said, shoving two vials into his hand.

"EVE!" he yelled out, making her stop and lock eyes with him. "Crystal... she's dead... don't you get that?"

She turned angry at his words. "Of course I get that. What do you think I'm too much of an idiot to understand that our own father killed our sister?" she hissed. "That I'm just some empty shell without feelings or a heart or a fuckin brain that-"

"Eve, stop!" he said grabbing her shoulders roughly. "I never said that."

She just shook her head. "I can't think about that right now... we have too much to do and we have less than three days to get everything right."

Noah didn't want to push her any further, he knew how upset she was over Crystal's death and she needed to have herself a proper cry. He also knew how good Eve was at keeping a straight face while burying her feelings deep within and sometimes never even dealing with them at all... just like most of her life.

"You're aware of your health?" she asked him as she took in his condition.

He nodded.

"Whatever the serum that Father put into you was is acting as a poison... it's affecting your immune system and that's why this incision isn't getting any better. The infection will stop spreading for a bit with that potion I gave you but eventually it will start to spread. At least that's my best guess, who knows what the hell is inside of you." She gave a hard sigh as she threw the rag she was holding down in the sink.

"I know... I don't need a diagnosis, I just need you to act human for a fuckin second." He almost begged.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

The space between them grew silent before Noah spoke again.

"You need to take a look at Riley... I think she might be experiencing something similar to what Ellie went through."

She gave a small nod. "I'll check on her." She said before the room went silent once more.

* * *

Ginny stood awkwardly beside Adwell as she waited for the elevator to come to a stop. She had finally felt like she had her own mind again, but as soon as her neck device was removed it all changed. Her powers were too strong for her body to keep a level head, even with the implant helping to stabilize them.

She felt the elevator come to a stop and followed Adwell down a small hall.

"Why are you taking me down here again?" she asked him.

"Because dear, I want to give you a peek at what your new powers will help me accomplish." He said as he held a door open for her to walk through.

Ginny walked into a large room, it was the same room Crystal had shown them of where all of Adwell's failed experiments ended up. So many people just laying in these vegetative states until he found a use for them again. Some of them were deformed and others were completely normal looking. Men, women, and children filled the room and it was one of the most heartbreaking yet eerie feelings she had felt.

"Finally all these failures that I had to store down here I can start to find a use for again. These will be my test subjects when I start administering the new serum."

"What exactly is the new serum?" she asked as she continued to look around the room.

"It's you... your blood. You see the issue was getting all those powers to mesh together and still have a person live through the ordeal. Now that your body has already taken to the new powers, they are all meshed already. This is the biggest obstacle I've overcome... now it shouldn't take as much of a toll on my test subjects since the powers won't keep trying to overpower each other during the initial injection. Things should now go a lot smoother overall."

She took in his words. "You plan to make all of these people as powerful as me?"

"Yes... and no. You see Ginny, you're different... you have the ability to build off of these powers and make them even stronger than what was initially injected into you. It's quite amazing really."

"Are you going to take the serum?"

He just looked at her with a wide evil smile. "Oh, dear Ginny... I already have."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "What? When?"

"Only three days ago... miraculous isn't it? The turn around time? That is why I am confident you are the key to my success."

She just shook her head at how crazy he really was. She just continued to look at all these people and she couldn't help but think about how all of these people once had families. It was heart-wrenching to even think about.

Ginny's eyes fell on a separate part of the room that was more secure and blocked off. "What's in there?" she asked as she tried to peek inside.

"Those experiments you want to hope never wake up or escape. They are more of a hybrid."

"A hybrid? Of what?"

"Some of the individuals I've obtained powers from were more than just humans. For example, Eve's powers I extracted from a Veela... that was... quite a task."

"So Eve's..."

"Not quite, but does Eve have Veela blood running through her? Yes." He said as he got lost in the memory. "Then I thought why not try to inject the blood of someone with magical abilities and put that into one of the many creatures that live in our world."

"And did it work?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Some... most of them turned out to be too dangerous to keep alive or awake. The last one I tried was a werewolf with the power of... get this... metal. See, injecting the power of metal into a werewolf wasn't working, they always ended up dead or horribly deformed... naturally. Then I thought, why not combine the power and the genetic mutation of that of a werewolf into another person, hoping that the two would eventually mesh together instead of canceling the other out. So I attempted it."

"And what happened?"

Adwell looked at her, a sneer on his face. "Eve escaped with him."

"You mean Noah?" she asked, shocked at what she was hearing.

Ginny's stomach twisted into a knot, it was insane just how far Adwell had taken his experiments and she feared for not just her family, but the world in general.

"I think you're making a big mistake by giving these abilities to so many people. You can't control them all, eventually, things will fall through and you will have a mess on your hands." Ginny tried to warn him.

"You think I'm stupid enough to give Eve's powers out like that? No, no, that little ability will be taken out of the final serum. Soon I will have the defense I need and soon the Minister of Magic position. Once those are in place I can continue to grow my work."

"Grow? How much further do you want to take this?"

"Nothing is ever perfect. There will always be a way to improve my work... make my powers stronger, seek other abilities that I haven't seen yet."

"Adwell, please... please let Draco and Harry go. You don't need them anymore, you have me. If you let them go I will stay here without a fight, I will do whatever you want. Just please... please let them go." She pleaded with him.

He scoffed at her pleas. "I can reassure you; you will most definitely do anything I tell you... you have no choice in that matter. As for Draco and Harry, you can stop begging for their freedom because that will never happen. They are the two strongest hosts after you so if something should happen to you then I need to have them here."

Ginny tried to hold her tears in but was failing miserably as his words sunk in.

"I know you want your family back but look at it this way. Eventually, you'll all be reunited because I finally know where they're hiding, and I know what they're planning. I also have you and I know the last person they'll expect to hurt them... is their own mother." He said with an evil smile.

Ginny cried harder at his words; she would never forgive herself if she ever hurt her children. She couldn't even fathom the thought of bringing harm to any of them. She could never live a life where she was forced to hurt the ones she loves. She would welcome death with open arms before anything like that could potentially happen.

* * *

"Checkmate," James said with a wide grin.

Scorpius just sneered at him before he waved his wand a reset the chessboard again. "Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're about to." James laughed.

He smirked at James' comment before they started playing again. "So, uh... what do you think of Rose?"

James moved his chess piece and just shrugged, "I don't know, what's to think about?"

"Just asking."

"Think about like... do I think she's good looking or something?" James asked as he studied the board in front of him.

"Yeah... I guess so."

"She's nice looking I suppose, why are you asking me this again?" James asked, finally looking up at the blond with a confused look.

Scorpius looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot. "I heard she has a thing for you."

"For me? Who did you hear that from?"

"Eve told me... she said she heard Rose... thinking about you."

"Interesting," James said with a wide smile.

"Interesting? I thought you were with my sister." Scorpius snapped.

"No, I am... I'm just saying... it's-"

"It's what?" Scorpius asked through clenched teeth.

"Relax, I do not think of Rose or have thought of Rose in that way ever. Besides, I love Aurora."

"Love? How do you know you love her?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was talking to your father." James sarcastically snapped.

"Sorry, it's just... with everything that happened with Raven... just tell me, how do you know?"

James turned in his chair on the porch and looked down by the lake where Aurora was sitting on the edge with Ava.

"I mean... just look at her," James said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "I could literally sit here all day and just watch her... first she's funny as hell but she also is a bit mysterious which makes me want to know more. Above all though, she's the most caring, kind-hearted and gentlest soul I've ever met. Every time I ever felt the most defeated or like there was no way I would ever feel an ounce of happiness again... she would somehow manage to be that bit of sunlight for me. Even if it was just talking to me or making me smile in the slightest. I mean... I don't know what else you want me to say I have no other words really."

"Alright... I got it." Scorpius said with a small chuckle at hearing James pour his heart out over his sister. "So... have you guys... you know."

James snapped his eyes up to his. "Are you trying to ask me if I've slept with your sister?"

"Maybe."

"Is that really your business?"

"Yes!" Scorpius said loudly before he lowered his voice. "I mean... it's my duty to ask as the older brother since my father isn't around to ask."

James just narrowed his eyes at him. "Just chill, I haven't slept with her yet."

"Yet?"

"I mean-"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, and I know what goes through that mind of yours. You and Aurora's vile thoughts about each other." Scorpius made a face pretending to be sick.

"Aurora has dirty thoughts about me?" James asked with a smile.

Scorpius froze the chess piece James had his fingers on until his hand and chess piece were stuck to the board. "Don't look so thrilled, Potter."

"And did Eve tell you this too?" James asked, as tried to pull his hand free from the spot it was stuck in.

"Yeah, why?"

James just shrugged. "Do you have dirty thoughts about Eve?" James teased him.

"You're sick and completely out of your mind. I just found out the woman I love cheated on me with a man we almost killed."

"We?"

"Ok, well mostly me... but you have the wrong idea."

"Do I?"

Scorpius glared at him before his expression softened a bit and he leaned in a bit closer to James. "The thing with Eve is... She's... different and her powers are intriguing to me."

"Mhm... go on."

"And she's kind of complicated."

"And you like complicated?" James said with a small laugh.

"I don't like her... I'm just trying to be a friend to her, she's got nobody else."

James' turned more serious at his last comment. "Yeah... you're right."

"I know I'm right," Scorpius said as he confidently moved one of his chess pieces.

James had finally managed to free his hand before he reached over with the other one and moved his piece. He looked up at Scorpius with a smug look again. "Checkmate."

"Fuck this game," Scorpius mumbled. "We need to get back to practice anyway."

"Uh, Scorpius?" came Aurora's voice from the field.

"Yeah?" he asked as he reset the game once more.

"Eve just left."

"What do you mean left?" he said looking up at her.

"Like she just walked out from the house and through the wards." She said pointing to the front yard.

Scorpius and James jumped up from their seats and ran after her.

"Aurora, if we're not back in ten minutes send help!" James called over his shoulder as they ran through the ward.

"Eve, wait!" Scorpius yelled out as he ran to catch up with her.

She was walking quickly across a field over to a wooded area.

"Eve! Stop!" he called again before he finally caught up and grabbed her arm. "Where the hell are you going?"

"You two should go back to the house." She said as she continued to walk.

"Eve, it's not safe outside of the ward, Adwell's men could be anywhere." James tried to reason with her.

She stopped and turned to both of them. "You don't understand... I need to be away from you all right now." She said through trembling lips. Her tear-filled eyes lit up purple as her fists were tightly clenched.

Scorpius and James stopped following her as she continued into the wooded area.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get Hermione or something," James said as he made a move to walk back.

"No, just go... I'll get her to come back." Scorpius said as he kept his eyes on Eve.

"You sure?"

He nodded.

James walked over to him and gave him a small slap on the back. "Alright... friend." He smirked as he received a sneer from Scorpius before he took off back to the house.

Scorpius ran to catch up with her. "Eve!" he called out as he entered the small wooded area. He looked up at the storm clouds moving in through the trees and heard rumbling in the distance. "Eve? We should get back before it starts storming... plus I'm having a great hair day so I'd like to keep it that way." He mumbled the last part.

He felt the ground beneath him start to shake suddenly and kept looking for Eve. He finally spotted her a few feet away and went to make his way over to her when he stopped. Trees all around him lifted from the ground, giant boulders and even the water on the ground floated up. Eve was surrounded by a dome of telekinetic energy that shielded her from the falling debris around her.

"Come inside." She whispered out.

He was hesitant at first but the falling branches and rocks dropping from above him made him enter the dome. He was surprised when all the sound from outside the shield became muffled, even the rain that started to fall he couldn't feel.

"Eve... we need to go back."

"I know... I just need to let some of it out." She whispered through her shaky lips.

"Let what out?"

She grabbed the sides of her head. "Everything."

The earth beneath him started to crack and he felt the release of power from Eve as a wave of energy burst out in front of them. Everything in front of its path was disintegrated, the trees, the boulders... they all were no more. Any sign of life in the small forest they stood in was completely gone.

Eve fell to her knees and collapsed further into tears. Scorpius wasn't sure if he should approach her or not. The dome around them finally disappeared as Eve became an emotional mess.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I just need a minute." She cried.

He took a few steps towards her and squatted down beside her.

"My sister and Noah were the only two people I had left... I have nobody... do you know how it feels to be completely alone? I don't even know what I'm doing... I can't even control my powers without my father controlling them for me." She sobbed.

He didn't know what to say, there was nothing he could say... nothing that he thought would help her feel any less alone. She was completely coming undone emotionally and mentally right before his eyes, everything she had gone through her entire life was in the meltdown he was witnessing and it broke his heart. She was such a mess she could barely hold herself up.

"Eve..." he trailed off as he brought his hand up to place on her shoulder, but as soon as his hand touched her he was overcome with the most excruciating pain he had even felt through his head.

He let out a painful scream and then a bright white light filled his eyes and he felt himself falling. He quickly sat back up and looked around, his breathing heavy as he took in where he was.

"Scorpius?

He looked around the room and he thought it looked like the Manor, but he wasn't positive.

"Scorpius? You ready?"

"Mum?" he turned to see himself surrounded by books and a large trunk.

It was his first day of Hogwarts.

"Mum, stop rushing me, it takes time to pick out my clothes." A small version of himself spoke up.

"You'll be wearing your robes most of the time so just pack anything, Sweetheart," Ginny said as she rustled his hair a bit.

"Great, now I need to do my hair again." He sneered.

"You look perfect, you'll be one of the best looking boys there." She said with a smile.

"One of the best? No, Mum, I want to be the best... now I better rethink this outfit."

"I think you'll look like a dork no matter what you wear." Ember teased from the doorway.

"Alright, you two, enough," Draco said as he walked into the room. "You both have five minutes and after that, if you're not ready then whatever is in your trunks is what's going with you."

"What if I have no clothes packed?" Scorpius asked smugly.

"Then I guess you'll be going wearing nothing under your robes," Draco warned him.

Scorpius smiled at the memory before he was blinded by another bright white light. This time he was standing in what looked like a hospital room. There was a woman holding a baby in the bed and she was smiling down at the tiny little girl.

"Diana, do not get attached." Came Adwell's voice.

Scorpius' head turned at the sound of the voice and watched the man walk into the room. He looked down at the baby in her arms and then back up at his wife.

"You've named her?" he asked in disappointment.

"Yes, Eve... isn't she the sweetest?" she said with a tearful smile.

"Here... let me hold her." He said softly.

She gently passed the baby to him and he looked down at her and gave the tiniest of smiles before it quickly faded.

"I'm sorry to do this to you Diana, but this will be the last time you interact with Eve." He said as he went to leave the room.

"What? Jack, wait? You can't take her... she's less than two days old." She said, trying to get out of the bed.

"You knew what this was."

"Yes, but I thought once she was born you-"

"I'd what? Change my mind? No dear, Eve is mine." He said before he closed the door and locked her in.

Scorpius suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe and he started gasping for air as the room turned blurry and began to spin. He heard crying and when he opened his eyes he was in a small dark room.

"Daddy, can I see mummy today?" said a tiny version of Eve.

"I told you, Eve, Mummy doesn't want to see you." Adwell spat as he led her back into her room.

"But I drew her a picture... can't you show her this and maybe she will change her mind?" she pleaded as tears stung her eyes.

He grabbed her tightly and gave her a hard shake. "You have no mother Eve, I'm all you've got. Do you understand that?"

Eve gave him a tearful nod.

"Good, now get some rest... you have more testing to go through tomorrow."

Another white light flashed and everything went dark, all he could feel was something wet hitting his face. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone kneeling over him. It took a few moments before the blurred figure turned out to be Eve.

"Scorpius, hey, are you ok?" she asked him, grabbing his face in her hands and looking him over. Her big brown eyes staring down at his.

He blinked his eyes a few times as the rain continued to hit his face. "What... happened?" he asked as she helped him sit up.

"It was me... I'm sorry, my powers... I lost control."

He felt incredibly nauseous and leaned over the side and threw up. "Shit... that was lovely." He sarcastically winced through the sharp pain in his head. "Just tell me one thing... is my hair messed up?" he asked as he spit the last bit of bile from his mouth.

She gave him a tearful smile before she nodded.

* * *

James was walking up to his room when he passed Aurora's and saw her door opened a bit. He thought back to the conversation he had earlier with Scorpius and bit his lip to stop himself from thinking indecently of her. He walked over and gave a small knock before he pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"Hey." She said with a smile as she continued to braid her hair.

"Hey." He said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you acting nervous?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just... thinking."

"Oh yeah, what about?"

He leaned down and gently grabbed her face before he kissed her softly. She didn't expect the action and lost the end of her braid, making the whole thing come undone and fall around her face.

"I love you." He said against her lips.

Her eyes fluttered open to meet his before she smiled and then kissed him harder. Her hands running through his already messy hair as she pulled him closer to her. He suddenly pulled away and looked at her.

"You didn't happen to talk to your brother in the last two hours did you?" he asked through his heavy breathing.

"No, why?"

"Nothing, nevermind." He said before he kicked her door closed then had his lips on hers again.

He was surprised when it was Aurora who seemed to be rougher than he was as she pushed him down onto her bed then climbed on top of him. She slipped her shirt off and sat there for a moment looking down at him. Her crystal eyes didn't hide the longing she had for him and he loved that she was more than willing to take this step with him.

When she pressed her lips against his again and he pulled one of her bra straps down to expose her pale shoulder, he noticed her hair start to frizz a bit. He felt a small lump form in his throat when he could feel his powers surface a bit but Aurora seemed to not notice or care. If she did feel them against her body it was only bringing her more pleasure.

It's not like they didn't rile each other's powers up before when they got a little too close, but this was a big step. They had only just begun and he felt an overwhelming amount of electricity running through him. The only thing he thought about was the story Draco told him about his father and Mr. Thomas and how he accidentally hurt his mother.

"Are you ok?" Aurora asked him when she felt his wandering hands come to a stop.

"Um... actually." He sat up making her sit beside him instead.

"I thought you wanted to-"

"I do... it's just..." he slipped his hands into his pockets as static energy covered them. "I don't think I can do this right now. I'm sorry, I know I initiated it and-"

"James, relax," Aurora said with a small giggle. "We don't have to do anything you're not ready for, but in the meantime..." she trailed off as she locked lips with him again.

He kissed her back but then gently pushed her away. "Yeah, listen I have to go... it's not you... it's just..." he got up and opened the door. "I just... I'm sorry." He quickly said before he took off down the hall.

* * *

"Raven? I'd like a word with you." Blaise said as he walked into her room.

She turned over in her bed and faced the wall.

"Don't ignore me." He said firmly as he sat on the side of her bed.

She didn't say anything, instead, she pulled the covers over her face. He sighed, it was hard to see his daughter so upset but he was also angry with her.

"I've given you time to cope with what you've done and maybe reevaluate yourself, but-"

"Dad, seriously... I don't want to hear this. I know what I did, just leave me alone." She snapped, sitting up to look at him.

"But why? Why did you... how could you? You know what your mother did to me... to us, I didn't think my own daughter could be capable of something so cruel."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I guess I take after Mum then."

"Don't say that. Raven... when I met your mother and she became pregnant with you, it was a very dark time for this world. I knew then that we would always be together because if we were able to survive that and get through those horrid times then marriage couldn't possibly be as hard. I was wrong though... even being together for almost eighteen years didn't stop your mother from being unfaithful to me... to us. I just hope you realize, truly realize how much you not only hurt Scorpius... but me as well."

She let her tears fall and she felt her father give her a hug before he stood up.

"I know that's hard to hear, but I think you needed to hear it." He said softly before he left her room.

* * *

"Hey, what are you working on?" Hermione asked Scorpius as she took a seat on the couch beside him in the living room.

"I don't really know yet." He sighed looking down at the neck device he had removed from Eve that first night she showed up.

"Well, why don't you start with what you're trying to do?"

"Ok, it's Eve... she said that implant she had helped stabilize her powers, but now without it, they are too powerful it seems."

"How powerful are we talking?"

"Powerful enough that she had to leave our wards to relieve some of them... and they wiped out like... everything in its path... everything just disintegrated."

"When the hell were you outside the wards Scorpius!" she yelled.

"Aunt Hermione, calm down, I'm fine."

"I don't care, don't you ever, EVER go outside these wards again, especially without letting any of us know." She demanded, her hands tightly gripping his shirt.

He looked down at the hold she had on him and how close she got before he couldn't help the smirk that came over his face. "Uh... sorry?"

She released the hold she had on him and cleared her throat. "Scorpius... you guys are everything to me... and I need to keep you guys safe so please, don't do anything that stupid again."

His smirk faded at her serious tone before he nodded.

She took a second to compose herself. "So tell me more about what you're doing."

"Well, I was hoping to try and transfigure this neck device into something she could wear that would act as a stabilizer. There's a serum in the necklace but hardly any left... it temporarily will disable all her powers, but I don't want to disable all of them... just keep them manageable for her." He said picking up the neck piece and giving a defeated sigh. "So what do you think?"

"How about something like a stone? Preserve the effects of the serum in the form a stone."

"So maybe a necklace with the stone? Every time she touches it, it will sort of calm her down?"

"Yeah, like a soothing stone. Only her touch will activate the serum and with the preservation charm on it, it should last for a long time." Hermione explained.

"Ok, so now to transfigure this thing into something decent looking." He said holding up the neck device. He waved his wand a few times and held it up for her to look at. "Nice, huh?"

"That's ghastly, she needs to wear this day and night, it needs to be simple and thin and the stone needs to be smaller, not a giant rock." Hermione snapped, taking the necklace from him and transfiguring it herself. "There." She said with a smug smile.

"Not bad, thanks." He said taking it back from her.

She watched him for a moment. "How are you holding up?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I want to deal with how I'm feeling, but there's no time. I feel like I need to just focus right now... we have less than three days to get our shit together. Everything has just been drama these past few days and I just want my parents back... and now Mum's..." he trailed off.

Hermione reached forward and brushed his hair out of his face. "Scorpius... we are going to save them and your mum... she is going to be just fine." She said as her eyes filled with tears.

He just looked at her before he nodded and let her pull him into a tight hug.

* * *

Eve looked closely at the blood sample again that she took from Riley earlier. She had to transfigure a few things and master a couple of complicated spells but she managed to get what she needed.

"Don't worry Riley, I will help in any way I can. If you really are developing powers, even by force, we can get control over them before you get to a place you can't come back from." She said with a small smile.

Riley didn't say anything, she just listened.

"Riley, I know what you went through there... if you want to talk about it-"

"I don't." she snapped.

"Ok." She said with an understanding nod before she walked over and lit her wand up to look at her eyes.

"Your eyes... they're black." She commented. "And something seems off with your bloodwork..." she trailed off as she studied it more closely through a magnifying spell.

Riley just looked at her, for some reason she only felt anger. "I met your sister." She quietly said.

"I'm sure you did, Crystal was... very involved when it came to helping my father," Eve said softly as she continued to study the sample in front of her.

"Not Crystal... I meant Jade."

Eve quickly turned to look at her. "Who?"

"Jade... she told me she was your sister."

Eve quickly shook her head. "No... I only have one sister."

"Well, she looked related... she looked maybe only a year or two older than you."

"You're wrong." Eve corrected her, her tone turning angry.

"Maybe... I did have a lot of testing done. I could've hallucinated the whole thing." She shrugged.

Eve's heart was racing, the reality was that what Riley was saying could very well be true. "Why don't you rest for now, I'm going to look over everything and we'll figure this all out, ok sweetie?"

Riley saw the tears in her eyes and nodded.

"Ok, get some sleep," Eve said as she held her tears in before she quickly left her room and walked straight over to Noah's.

She didn't even bother knocking, instead, she just slammed his door open.

"Thanks for knocking." He drawled.

"Why didn't you tell me we had another sister?" she angrily cried.

"What?"

"Don't bullshit me, Noah, I know Father shared a lot more with you than he ever did with me or Crystal... Riley told me."

"How does Riley know about Lucy?"

Eve's breath caught in her throat. "Wh-who?"

"Lucy?" he gave a defeated sigh. "She was like three when she died from one of Father's experiments. Why, who are you talking about?"

"Jade."

"Who's Jade?"

* * *

Ember finished drying the last of the dishes from dinner before she took a seat with her grandmother at the table. She let out a soft sigh as Molly placed a cup of tea down in front of her.

"Why don't you go rest dear, I will listen out for Ava tonight."

"No, Grandma, you're always taking care of her, it's my responsibility."

"Oh pish posh, it keeps my mind off of things. I honestly don't mind." She reassured Ember with a smile.

Ember nodded after a moment before her eyes fell on a dark figure out in the field. "Grandma, someone is outside the ward... they can't get in here can they?" she quickly asked.

Just as she asked the question, the person walked through the ward and soon almost everyone was downstairs at the sound of the ward being invaded. Hermione quickly pulled out her wand followed by Ron as she ripped the front door open.

Scorpius and Ember made to follow when she put her hand up. "I don't think so, you guys stay here." She said firmly before her eyes fell on Blaise. "Blaise and Ron are enough, do not step foot outside of this house." She ordered.

They both wanted to object, but the look on Hermione's face made them just nod at her request.

Hermione held her wand firmly out in front of her as she slowly stepped towards the intruder. "Who are you? What do you want?" she asked, the darkness of the night made it hard for her to make out the person.

They didn't answer and instead pulled out their wand.

"Stop where you are!" she called out as a final warning.

After realizing they weren't stopping she threw out a full body bind curse and watched them fall to the ground.

"They just don't listen," Ron said with a small smirk as he walked over to the man.

He froze when at least ten more men entered the wards and this time they didn't wait before they started throwing spells.

"RON!" Hermione screamed out.

Ron barely had time to react before a spell hit him hard in the chest and he flew backward onto the ground.

"Scorpius!" Ember called to him as she looked out into the backyard. "There's more of them!"

"Grandma, take Harper and Bella and go upstairs to check on Ava and the others." Scorpius quickly said to her before she took the two girls and made her way upstairs.

There was the sound of windows breaking as spells flew into the house making everyone take cover. James used his powers to kill the lights in the entire house in an attempt to make it harder for them to be seen. He looked around for Aurora but she must've been taking cover somewhere else.

Ember heard someone running up the porch steps and blasted the back door open. She quickly jumped out from behind the wall and threw a ball of flames at the man. As soon as he fell, another two men ran into the back door and threw a Bombarda spell at her, making her take cover behind the hallway wall as the floor in front of her exploded.

James quickly ran past her with electricity already running through him as a flash of lightning lit the house up and the two men fell to the floor. Ember ran over and tipped the dining room table over and took cover with him behind it as spells flew through the house sending glass and debris everywhere.

Back in the front yard Scorpius, Hermione, and Blaise were ducked down behind an icy wall Scorpius had formed against the ambush of men that entered the wards. Every time he thought they took a man or two down, another one would enter the wards.

"Cover me... I need to get to Ron." Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"I'll go," Blaise said and quickly ran out from behind the wall before any of them could object.

Blaise was quick with his spells and very accurate which helped take down a large number of men in just a few waves of his wand. He helped Ron to his feet and dragged him back over to the wall just as a large explosion blasted the wall to pieces and sent them all flying across the yard.

In the house, Aurora and Ellie had taken cover behind the couch and were so tightly tucked into a ball they were on top of each other. Aurora hardly had a chance to conjure up any of her powers as the room was torn apart by flying spells and powers flying about.

One of the men jumped over the couch in front of them. "I'll be damned if I'm leaving here without one of you little freaks." He said as he reached for Ellie.

He dragged her like a ragdoll across the floor before Aurora grabbed her back. She formed an icicle in her hand and jabbed it right into his leg making him scream out in pain and releasing his grip on Ellie. They both went to make a run for it when he grabbed Aurora's leg and made her hit the floor hard.

The man went to grab her when someone grabbed him roughly and slammed him hard against the wall. It took a second for Aurora to realize it was Noah, he picked the man up and threw him hard against the floor before he continuously punched him. He started to choke the man, his fingers digging so hard into his skin that he practically ripped out his throat with his bare hands.

Aurora and Ellie just had a shocked expression on their face at the scene before them before their attention was turned towards the feeling of the house rumbling beneath their feet. The three of them quickly ran out towards the front where they watched the ward start to collapse, then suddenly, everything slowed down around them.

Scorpius picked himself up from the ground along with Hermione and Blaise before they stared at all the men around them running at them in slow motion. Scorpius was certain it was Eve's doing, after seeing a peek at her powers in the forest he knew she was capable of much more.

He finally spotted her across the yard as he quickly made his way over to her. He could see her struggling with how much power it took for her to control every man.

"Want a hand?" he asked her with a small smirk.

He held his hand out letting a large ball of ice form before he let it break apart into sharp shards. He gestured for her to go ahead when she was ready and she sent the small sharp icicles across the entire yard hitting most of the men. As soon as she saw some of them fall she was able to ease up on some of her powers. After the front was clear the rest of them made their way around the back of the house where there were still a few men left.

Jake, Luna, and Raven were taking cover behind the side of the porch. Every time one of them would attempt to make a run for it, a spell would nearly hit them.

"Fuck this," Jake said as he made a run for it, his wand tightly gripped as he hopped over the porch railing and took down two men with a knockout jinx.

Raven and Luna went to follow him when a man blocked their path.

"What is that?" Luna said as she looked at what kind of human man stood before her.

He was larger than a normal human, but one of his arms was deformed as metal ripped through his flesh. One of his eyes was missing and the other was red that only seemed to darken as he advanced on them. Half of his face was burned and it looked like half of his scalp was missing.

He grabbed Luna by the throat and picked her up off the ground. Raven threw out a few different spells but none of them seemed to have any effect on the man as he kicked her roughly back onto the ground. It was a bolt of lightning that shot down and hit the man's metal arm that finally made him drop Luna to the ground.

"Mum, are you ok?" James quickly asked her as he ran to her side.

She just looked at him, she watched him practice every day with his powers, but seeing him use them to save her had a different effect.

Once everyone was together again and everyone was accounted for, all the questions started.

"How the hell did they know where we were?" Blaise asked.

"Something isn't right... they knew exactly where our wards started and ended and how to get through." Hermione said as she was deep in thought.

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that someone here in this house... is a damn spy."

 **A/N: A LOT going on in this chapter! I must hear what you guys are thinking! What do you think about the what Adwell showed Ginny and the info he shared with her? What about everything going on with Eve? And then the fight at the end? I would love to hear your feedback!**

 **If you haven't already joined my Facebook fanfic group you can find the link on my profile page. I post chapter previews, updates and discussions on there about my current and past fics.**

 **Thanks so much for reading, I look forward to hearing your feedback! 3**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I usually update a lot faster than this. I don't intend to ever take this long again to post, life just got in the way this time. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it is the longest one I've written so far.**

 **ENJOY!**

Hermione paced back and forth in the kitchen, broken glass and debris scraped under her shoes as she desperately searched for the right words. She stopped to glance around the table as her mind frantically searched for the culprit as she tried to piece everything together.

"I know nobody wants to point fingers, but I'm just going to say it... it's obviously Noah." Ember snapped.

"I'm not the fuckin spy," Noah said defensively.

"Bullshit, you've been training to work alongside your father for years. You even told me your plans to work at the lab and now we're just expected to believe you're not the spy?" she angrily stated.

"You know what that's rich coming from you, maybe you should turn your attention to your new boy toy Jake over there. His whole family is nothing but murders and Death Eaters!" Noah shot back leaning over the table to meet Ember's glare.

"My father and my family's history have nothing to do with what's happening here," Jake argued.

"How the hell do we know that? My father and your father could have been best pals for all we fuckin know." Noah went on as he felt Eve grab his arm and pull him back down.

"Well, it is a bit coincidental that you took us to that neighborhood and then the next thing we're all being shot at," James mentioned, looking at Jake. "And Riley almost died."

"Are you insinuating that I set that all up?" Jake said through clenched teeth as he made to take a step towards James.

Scorpius' eyes fell on Ember as he watched her start to realize that Jake would seem like the prime suspect. "Let's not forget this guy Matthew." He said as they all turned to Matthew who was sitting at the end of the table. "You are the only one who has been back and forth from here, besides McGonagall and we know it's not her. You were able to escape with Eve, Noah, and Riley and even Portkeyed out of there. Then we all get attacked and you're not even here when it happens then conveniently turn up shortly after?" Scorpius pointed out.

"You can't be further from the truth; the lab wasn't as secure as it is now. Adwell is smart and has upped his security because of what I did." Matthew tried to explain.

"You have all these supposed inside men feeding you information but you're probably the one who is playing us," Blaise said angrily.

"And how do we know it's not you Zabini?" Matthew argued.

"Raven and I were the ones who helped Hermione and Ron find these kids! If I wanted to deliver them to Adwell I would have had those men take them that day we rescued them you bloody fool!" Blaise raged.

"You're all looking at the wrong person, what about Eve?" Matthew suggested.

"Why would you think that? You were the one who offered me freedom from that place." Eve choked out; a bit hurt that Matthew suddenly turned on her.

"I did yes, but that's because I believed you were a decent person."

"Were?"

"Well, I know I'm the last person anyone wants an opinion from." Said Raven. "But it could be more than one person. It could be Matthew, Eve and Noah... they all came together. It could be Kingsley for all we know."

"Kingsley wouldn't betray us like that... he helped us fight during the last war." Luna chimed in.

The arguing suddenly turned to yelling, causing anger to fill the room as people pointed fingers at each other.

"ALRIGHT ENOUGH!" Molly yelled out. "This is insane, we are only assuming someone here is helping Adwell, but for all we know, those men could have just gotten lucky. For all we know when Eve set off her powers the other day outside of the wards they picked up a trail."

The room grew silent as Molly's theory set in.

"Now... we have a lot of work to do and a lot of repairs to be made. Hermione why don't you partner with Blaise and Matthew and get another ward up and add some extra security to it somehow."

Hermione nodded as she, Blaise and Matthew made their way outside.

"Luna, go check on the girls upstairs while I check on Ron's injury. As for the rest of you... get to work and if I hear one raised voice from any of you... a spy in our midst will be the least of your problems." Molly warned before she stormed off into the other room.

The rest of them sat there in silence before Ember finally took her wand out and walked outside to start repairing the back porch. The tension between everyone was at an all-time high as they all slowly started to disperse from the room.

"Do you want me to take a look at that?" Eve asked, gesturing to the cut on Scorpius' head.

"Oh, nah, it's ok... my grandmother could take a look." He said as he started picking up cups and plates from the floor.

"Well, she's helping Ron right now, so I don't mind."

"It's fine... it's not that bad anyway." He said, not looking at her.

"Oh... I see."

"See what?"

"Because I'm probably the spy, right?" she asked him.

He just looked at her. "I didn't say that... I just." He shrugged. "I'm not apologizing for thinking all of you guys are suspicious, so if your feelings are hurt then too bad." He snapped.

She just nodded before she looked at him with watery eyes. "Well, I guess it's too bad then." She said before she left the kitchen.

He threw the glass cup he had across the kitchen in frustration. Of course, he didn't want to think Eve was the spy... he didn't want to think Jake was or anyone in the house. Like his grandmother said it could be nobody even. He tried to go with his instinct and his instinct told him Eve was nothing but good... that Jake was nothing but good. He also thought he loved Raven and he trusted her and then she broke his heart so, in the end, his instinct meant nothing.

* * *

She continuously stuffed item after item into her endless bag, each item getting a hard shove to the bottom.

"Hermione?"

"What!" she growled out.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked her.

"What does it look like I'm doing Ronald, I'm packing!" she snapped.

"For what?"

"It's too risky to try and find another safe house right now and since we're leaving here in two days there's no reason to put ourselves in danger." She grabbed a handful of clothes from her dresser and threw them on the bed before she started sticking them in the bag. "I'm packing in case we get attacked again and need to quickly leave. I can't believe I so willingly let these people in here... and now I've put all our lives in further danger while someone in here is playing both sides."

Ron grabbed her shoulders and stopped her in her tracks. "Look at me."

After giving an annoyed sigh she slowly looked up at him.

"None of this is your fault... if anything, you are keeping everyone sane and that's what I need you to do right now... keep your head." He said with a small smile.

She looked up at the bandage around his head and the cut across his collarbone before she nodded.

"And like Mum said, it could very well just be coincidental. There might not be a spy at all."

"Who do you think it is?" she asked him.

"I think it's Noah, definitely Noah," Ron said quickly without hesitation.

"What? You just said there might not be a spy."

"Well, yeah, but if I had to choose... he gets my vote. What about you?"

She just shook her head in disbelief. "I really don't know who it could be."

* * *

Ginny paced around her room for what seemed like hours. She hadn't seen Draco or Harry since before Adwell took her to the Ministry. He didn't want Draco or Harry to be any kind of an influence on the way she used or embraced her new powers. She felt so alone in this tiny room that was cold and dark.

"Hello! I want to see Draco!" she yelled out as she slammed her hands on the metal door. "Hello! Somebody!" she called louder.

She sank to the floor and ran her hands through her hair frantically. Being alone in this room was getting to her and the unknown of whether her family was ok was eating away at her. She clawed at her neck piece as she tried to break it with every ounce of strength she could muster up. She remembered Adwell saying her powers were strong enough to be somewhat present even with the neck device and implant, but she couldn't feel any of them.

She walked up to the door and concentrated as she tried to make her body able to walk through it. She held her hand out and tried with everything in her to feel anything. She slowly moved her fingers forward to see if they would go through the metal door in front of her. She held her breath as she made contact with the door and just started to cry as her fingers touched the metal.

She slid down the wall and leaned her head back to try and calm herself down when she suddenly stopped sobbing. She looked up at the large vent in her room and suddenly had a small flicker of hope as she jumped to her feet. She stood under it again to evaluate how wide it was and if she could fit through it. After deciding that she could, she grabbed the leg of the metal bed that was in her room and started dragging it to the middle.

She quickly stood up on the bed and tried to pull the vent open but soon saw it was screwed shut. She climbed off the bed and looked around the room for anything she could use to try and unscrew the bolts. She searched under the mattress of her bed for anything of use like a broken spring or nail. After finding nothing she ran over to the small side table that had a few books on it and she ripped out a page and tore a small piece of the page up.

"Come on." She whispered to herself as she tried to turn the piece of paper to metal.

Nothing was happening and she tried to calm herself so she could refocus. She took a slow steady breath and thought about everything she has been through these few weeks. She thought about how bad she missed her children and Draco and just being surrounded by her family.

"Please, please, please... focus Ginny." She softly whispered to herself as she held the piece of paper in front of her again.

She started to feel the skin on the tip of her fingers turn stiff and then a light layer of metal started to form. She held the paper firmly and was only able to get the very tip of the paper to turn to metal before her powers completely failed her.

She hoped the small bit of metal she was able to form was enough to unscrew the vent open. She quickly stood back up on the bed and felt the tiniest bit of hope as she was able to get a slight grip on the stiffened paper and felt the screws start to loosen. Soon she was able to open the vent and she desperately tried to reach inside for an edge to pull herself up on.

She gave a hard push off the bed and caught the edge and hoisted herself up into the vent. She kicked her feet to try and get the rest of her body up and felt herself start to slip back down. She stopped and took a deep breath before she used everything in her to pull herself up the rest of the way into the tight space.

Just as she went to start crawling through, she felt someone grab her ankle and roughly pull her back out of the vent. Her fingertips desperately latched onto the lip of the vent before her hands gave out on her when one last hard pull made her fall. She bounced off the bed and then onto the floor before she turned over to see a blade to her throat.

"Get. Up." The woman demanded in a calm but threatening voice.

Ginny pulled herself up and stared at the young woman. "Who are you?" She asked as she realized there was something very familiar looking about her.

"Jade, and yes... I'm Adwell's daughter." She said as she pocketed her knife.

"How-Why haven't I seen you before?" Ginny asked as she tried to put her shocked expression aside.

"Well, you have been locked up in a single room for... what is it? Six weeks? Seven? Two months now?" she shrugged. "It's hard to keep track of time in this place." She said as she watched Ginny take in just how long she'd been in here.

"So, you've been locked up in this place like Eve?" She asked; she couldn't help the sad look that covered her face.

Jade just gave a small smirk at her expression. "Don't look so down, I'm not really Jade... more of a clone really... just one more of Daddy's little experiments. He strategically places memories and then poof... it's like I'm the real thing."

Every time Ginny thought Adwell had gone too far, she would find out he had gone even further than she could ever fathom.

"Right now, you're trying to figure out if I'm good or bad, correct?" she asked Ginny.

"You can read minds like Eve?"

She gave a small laugh. "Not at all... but your face said it all. I am one of the few around here without any powers."

"How many people has he cloned?"

"Not many... a few special cases... don't worry you're not one of them... not yet."

"Jade... please help me get out of here. I need to get back to my family, ple-"

"Stop!" she yelled, cutting Ginny off. "Don't waste your breath, I will not help you no matter how much you beg and plead... I was designed to serve my father and that is the only thing I will do. Crystal got soft in the end but me being a clone... I can fake the feelings and the memories I think are mine... but empathy... that's something I don't have."

Ginny just sat down on the bed defeated, desperately trying to keep her tears in but failing horribly. "Can you at least tell me if Draco and Harry are ok?"

Jade sat down beside her. "They are... for now."

"For now?"

"Dad wants to put them downstairs; you know where all the failed experiments end up? Not that they're failed experiments, but my father likes to keep his subjects perfectly preserved until he can use them again. So, he'll probably just put them into a medically induced coma until he finally finds a use for them again. I myself was down there for almost two years before he decided to experiment with cloning."

Ginny didn't even know how to respond to her words, everything was as bad as it could possibly be right now. She had no way of getting to them, it's not like she could stop it or beg for Adwell to reconsider. She was starting to just accept that this is what her life was now and the sooner she accepted that, then the less heartbroken she would be.

"You will get used to it... I mean, it's nice to be wanted for something in the end, isn't it?" Jade asked her.

Ginny just glared at her as tears of anger filled her eyes. "What about my baby?"

Jade looked at her stomach. "You mean your daughter? She will be born and then she will be taken... just like how I was taken from my mother. I don't remember it happening, I've only been told about my true past. Well, technically... do I really have a past? Since I'm a clone? I suppose not." She shrugged.

Ginny just fell into a silent fit of sobs and Jade stood up before patting the top of her head. "Don't worry, eventually the tears will stop." She said softly before she waved her wand over the vent to seal it up and then left the room.

* * *

Ember rinsed the rest of the toothpaste from her mouth before she glanced at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but think of her parents, especially her mother whenever she looked at her reflection. She was literally aching to be hugged by one of them, to feel their loving embrace again. She couldn't believe how lonely she felt without them, even surrounded by all her sisters and brother.

She walked out of the bathroom and saw Jake across the hall waiting for her. They've been spending the nights together for a while now but now that the possibility of a spy could be amongst them, she felt like she had to distance herself. The idea of Jake working for Adwell this whole time made Ember's stomach turn. Some of the points made by everyone earlier made everyone a suspect.

She walked over to her bedroom doorway and locked eyes with Jake. She wanted to so badly trust him, but with her parent's lives on the line, she didn't want anything standing in her way. She couldn't even look at him anymore from how guilty she felt before she walked into her room. It didn't take long before he was in her bedroom and standing in front of her.

"I just want you to know... that's it's not me. I know that means nothing to you and I understand why you can't take my word for it." He took both of her hands in his. "But I would NEVER hurt you. I'm not my father... I wouldn't betray you... any of you." He reassured her.

She looked at her hands in his and then up at him; her lips trembling with emotion before she slowly slid her hands out from his and looked at the floor.

He just nodded at her actions. "Ok... I get it." He lifted her chin to look at her. "Don't feel guilty, you're doing the right thing." He said, his voice cracking a bit as he was obviously hurt by her shutting him out.

He ran his thumb over her lip before he dropped his hand to his side and quickly left her bedroom.

* * *

Scorpius gave a soft knock on Ember's door before he waited for her to open it. The look on her face made him enter her room without waiting for her to let him in. They both sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

Ember laid back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Jake probably hates me."

Scorpius looked down at her beside him before he laid back beside her. "Yeah, probably."

Ember slapped him hard. "You're supposed to say no he doesn't."

"Alright, relax." He laughed. "I'm just kidding. Believe me Ember, he doesn't hate you... I mean unless he's the spy then he must hate us all a whole lot." He continued to try and hide his laughter.

"It's not funny."

"Ok, seriously, if Jake is the spy... I'll be shocked."

She gave him a relieved look. "Thanks." She mumbled.

"Although, I never thought Raven would cheat on me either, so I was pretty shocked by that." He shrugged before turning his head to the side to see her shoot him an angry glare.

She rubbed her face roughly before getting lost in her thoughts. "Scorpius... if he is..." she trailed off as the mere thought of Jake betraying her or any of them like that hit her.

"Hey, listen... in all honesty, we have no clue who it is. It could be him, Eve, Noah, Matthew... all of them. Who knows? Right now, we just need to stay focused. If and when it turns out to be that way... then you'll get through it... just like we've gotten through all of this."

She looked at him and studied his eyes for a moment before she nodded.

"Perfect, just the two people I wanted to see." Came James' voice from the doorway.

They both sat up at James' entrance into the bedroom.

"Can I talk to you guys for a second?" he asked them.

"Pft, no, you sided with Noah about Jake possibly being a spy." Ember snapped.

"Ok cool thanks," he said, ignoring her comment and taking a seat on the chair in the room.

Scorpius gave a small snicker at the angry glare Ember gave James. "What do you want, Potter?"

"Ok, so..." he trailed off as he the awkwardness of the question set in and he nervously scratched his head.

"So?" Scorpius pressed on.

"Ok, here it goes, have either of you ever..." he cleared his throat. "Um, lost control of your powers or felt them surface during... um..."

"During what Potter, spit it out!" Scorpius snapped, sounding annoyed.

"During... you know... sex."

Ember and Scorpius exchanged an amused look.

"You're asking us if we've ever lost control of our powers while doing it?" Scorpius laughed.

Ember started to giggle before they both answered in unison but gave a different response. Ember saying yes and Scorpius saying no which prompted them to exchange a surprised look.

"You've never felt your powers grow stronger whenever you were with Raven in that way?" Ember asked him.

"No, you have with Jake?"

"Yes." She answered timidly.

"Wait, why are you asking us? Did you-"

"No!" James quickly cut Scorpius off. "I mean... I wanted to, but... I didn't want to hurt her." He explained, lowering his head.

Scorpius' tone softened a bit at James' concern for Aurora's safety.

"Listen, let's be honest here... we're going to do it eventually so-"

"Hey, ok now, don't want to hear that." Scorpius cut him off as he held his hands up.

"Ok, well any advice?" James asked, looking more at Ember than Scorpius.

Ember thought back to the night she shared with Jake when her powers surfaced and he calmed her down. "Well, I don't think you will hurt her... if you feel yourself losing control just remember to slow down and breathe. You guys love each other... you will be each other's balance and at that moment when you're scared that you've lost all control... she will be the one to help guide you back. You just need to trust yourself... and her."

Ember felt her brother's eyes on her as she spoke before a smirk crossed his lips and she punched him in the arm.

"Shut up." She mumbled before she blushed at her memory with Jake.

Scorpius and James started laughing before Scorpius' eyes fell on Eve leaving the bathroom across the hall with what he assumed was another bloody nose. He saw her enter her room before he let out a hard sigh.

"I got to go... just listen to Ember, she seems to know what she's talking about." He said before he got up and walked across the room to knock on Eve's door.

She opened it a bit and seemed surprised to see him standing there.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked her as his eyes locked with hers for a silent moment.

She finally gave a small nod before she opened the door to let him in and then closed it behind her.

"Listen- "

"It's ok." She said, cutting him off.

He just looked at her. "What's ok?"

She looked down as she fidgeted with her hands. "It's ok that you're skeptical of me... whether I'm the spy or not. I really shouldn't have been upset earlier, you should be cautious, and I know you want to apologize but honestly... you don't have to." She said softly before she finally looked back up at him.

He felt even more horrible now about thinking she could be the spy after what she just said. He wasn't sure what to say now and so just gave a small nod at her words as the room grew silent.

After the awkwardness grew almost unbearable, Scorpius finally cleared his throat and pulled the necklace he made her out from his pocket.

"Um, so I sort of made this for you." He said holding it out for her to look at.

She just stared at it and then at him, unsure of how to respond.

"The stone on it is made from that serum that was in that neck device thing. It's like a soothing stone I guess you could call it. When you touch it, it will help stabilize your powers and keep you grounded." He explained.

She softly took the stone in her hand and could immediately feel a difference. The pressure in her head and the constant pain she felt went away. She felt more focused and in control of what she was thinking and who's thoughts she wanted to read.

"You made this... for me?" she said as a smile formed on her face as she rubbed her thumb over the stone again. "I... I don't know what to say, thank you."

He wasn't sure why Eve's smile made him feel happy. "Here, I'll put it on you." He said as she nodded before turning around and letting him slip it over her head.

She pulled her long brown hair back so he could clearly clasp it behind her neck. Scorpius clasped it before his eyes fell on her bare shoulder as her loose top slid to the side. He then looked at the long scar she had behind her ear where she used to have the implant. He couldn't help but think about the awful life she lived in that lab and the memories he saw of her as a child.

He didn't realize how lost in his thoughts he was as his fingers reached over and lightly traced the scar down her neck. The touch made Eve quickly snap her head around to look at him before the rest of her body turned to face him.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Eve felt just as awkward as he did at his action, mostly because she had to discreetly run her thumb over the stone again as she felt her powers surface at the feel of his touch. It was the feeling she had right now that scared her to death, this was the kind feelings she knew very little about. She liked that Scorpius was nice to her and that he was almost a friend, well she thought of him like that anyway. It was the way his fingers danced across her skin that made a lump form in her throat that she was almost scared to swallow.

"So how does it look?" she quickly asked as she tried to clear the awkward tension from the room.

"Oh, yeah, it looks great... perfect." He said. "How does it feel?"

She looked down at the small stone that sat on her neck before she looked back up at him with a wide smile. "It's amazing, I can't believe you did this for me, thank you again."

He nodded and thought about whether he should bring up the memories he had seen of her when she was little. He decided to not say anything since the necklace seemed to have brought a great deal of joy and comfort to Eve.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning I guess." He said as he headed to the door. "I mean... unless you're the spy and you kill me in my sleep." He said with a smirk as she shook her head at his inappropriate sense of humor.

Scorpius was on his way back to his bedroom when Raven quickly walked up beside him.

"We need to talk." She said as she tried to keep up with his fast pace.

"There's nothing to talk about." He said stiffly as he walked into his room and went to shut the door when she put her hand on it to stop him.

"Scorpius, please!" she said loudly. "Please give me a chance to explain." She begged him as her eyes filled with tears.

Scorpius took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before he looked at her. "This should be good... go ahead." He said leaning against the door frame as he blocked her entrance into his room.

"I know how angry you must be and I'm so sorry I hurt you like that. I was so stupid, and I was angry with you for wanting to take a break because I didn't want to lose you."

"So, sleeping with Noah was the obvious choice to make sure I stuck around?" he mocked her.

"Of course not. Scorpius... when my mother left me and my dad, it was devastating. She hurt him so much by doing what she did, and she wasn't loyal or faithful to him. I lied to you about me possibly being pregnant because I wanted to make sure you were committed to me. When you said you wanted to take a break it broke my heart and I was so angry that I did the worst thing I could think of to hurt you and it was so selfish of me to do and I am so sorry." She choked out as tears spilled down her face.

He just looked at her, her green eyes sparkling like gems through her tears. The truth was, regardless of whether he ever was really in love with Raven or not, he liked what they had. He enjoyed being with her and did love her in some way, he probably assumed she was the one he would eventually settle down with. Pretending to not be bothered by what she did was hard, and he tried with everything in him to keep his cool.

"Please say something." She whispered as she fell into a silent fit of sobs. "We're meant to be together Scorpius. Don't you see that, please give me another chance... please." She begged him. "I mean, come on, a Malfoy and a Zabini... it makes sense... we should be together."

He listened to her words and watched her continue to fall apart before him. He was silent for a while as he just watched her cry and get lost in his own thoughts. He finally took a step closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. He could hear her sobs soften as she started to calm down at his touch. He leaned down and softly pressed his lips to her forehead before he looked down and locked eyes with her. His face so close to her she could feel his breath on her lips.

"Fuck you, Raven." He whispered to her with a sneer before he slammed the door in her face.

* * *

Eve walked outside onto the back porch and felt the light night breeze hit her face. She looked across at the perimeter of the wards and saw Matthew patrolling it. His accusation against her still hurt a bit but she tried to shrug it off.

"You can't sleep either?"

Eve turned towards the voice on the porch swing to see Ellie sitting there.

"Well, the sun will be up soon, so I figured I'd get an extra early start on the day." She said with a small smile. "What's going on?"

Ellie just shook her head as she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm just worried about saving Mum and Dad. I don't think we are anywhere ready to break into that lab... I mean, we're going to have to work together and as a team to pull this off and let's face it... there's not much of that going on right now."

Eve sat down beside her. "I think you're absolutely right." She said as she studied Ellie's face. "What about you? Do you feel ready?"

Ellie quickly shook her head.

"Well then let's practice." Eve simply said as she stood back up.

"What? Now? It's like four in the morning."

"So what?" she said as she picked up on the doubts running through Ellie's mind. "Ellie... I don't care if you guys think I'm the spy or not anymore because honestly... the only thing I really want to do is help your parents and Harry escape. It's ok if you don't believe me and I should have understood more why everyone is skeptical of me and Noah, but right here, right now... I just want to help."

Ellie finally gave a small smile before she got up and walked out to the field with Eve.

"I feel pretty good about conjuring them up now, but I don't feel confident about keeping them surfaced. They seem to die out on me." Ellie explained.

"That's because you're losing focus and because you're scared. You're still holding back."

"I'm not," Ellie said defensively.

"Um... "Eve stopped to read her mind and then smirked. "You are. You're still not over what happened at the party."

Ellie looked at the ground. "I hurt people... when Mum lost control one night she almost killed her own family." She choked out before she looked back up at Eve. "I don't want that to happen to me."

"If you don't practice and if you continue to fear your powers then that could happen. You need to conquer them, you control them... they don't control you."

Ellie just nodded before silence filled the air. After a few moments Eve conjured up a ball of telekinetic energy and sent it towards Ellie making her lose her balance and fall to the ground. It wasn't very hard just enough to rile her up.

"What was that? I wasn't ready." Ellie snapped.

"Well, you need to be. Come on, get up." Eve said as she hit Ellie again with another wave of energy that made her fall over again just as she picked herself up.

"Stop, give me a chance!" she yelled.

"There are no chances Ellie, what if this was the real thing? Find a way." Eve told her as she held Ellie down to the ground with an invisible wall of pressure that she fought to overpower.

"I can't!" she shouted, tears in her eyes as she winced from the feel of Eve's powers crushing her.

Eve knew she wasn't hurting her; she knew it was all in Ellie's mind. "You can!"

"Stop, no more!" Ellie cried out as she started to give up and shut down.

"Ellie, focus! You're fine... you're overthinking it, just do it!" Eve yelled at her.

Ellie's entire body suddenly turned to water and flooded onto the ground and completely disappeared. Eve quickly stopped her powers and felt her heart sink when it happened, maybe she pushed her too far.

"Ellie?" she called out as panic set in.

She heard something behind her and snapped her head around to see this watery silhouette of a person forming from the ground up. After a few moments, Ellie's features and body were whole again.

"Are you ok?" Eve asked her.

Ellie's shocked expression slowly turned into a smile as she tried to catch her breath. "I did it. Did you see that?"

"Yeah, I saw it, you gave me a damn heart attack." She laughed. "Alright, let's get to work now."

* * *

Scorpius couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried. He had dozed off here and there for fifteen minutes at a time but by the time four thirty came around, he just found himself laying there deep in thought. He looked over at the window when he heard noise from out in the yard and got up and walked over to see what it was.

He peeked through blinds to see Ellie and Eve downstairs practicing and a wide smile stretched across his face. He quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed his wand before he went to make his way downstairs. He was surprised to see Ember quickly making her way out of her room also dressed and on her way downstairs. They both just stopped to look at each other before they exchanged a quick smirk when Aurora and James also met them in the hallway.

"Oh, hey... I was just..." Aurora trailed off before they all ran downstairs to the backyard.

"You guys having a party without us?" James called out to them as they made their way to the middle of the field.

"About time you slackers joined us." Ellie teased.

They all just stood there for a moment looking at each other as reality seemed to suddenly set in.

"Guys, we have less than forty-eight hours before we break into my father's lab. We need all the practice we could get in... we can't fail." Eve spoke up.

They all nodded.

"Alright, no holding back this time then," Scorpius said as he raised an eyebrow at Ember, who just gave him the finger in return.

"Let's partner up!" Eve called out as her eyes fell on James and Aurora. "You both should switch it up a bit. You practice together all the time, so you'll be expecting half of the things the other is going to do. Aurora, why don't you partner with Ellie and James... you're with me."

James watched Aurora give a small snicker as she walked over to Ellie leaving Eve and James alone.

"How am I supposed to even attempt to take you down when technically you can just take over my mind and make me do whatever you'd like?" he asked with a bit of frustration.

"You know, mind control isn't as easy for me as it is to read minds and move objects. If you stay focused on what you're doing it will be harder for me to take over." She explained.

He felt a bit more relieved at the bit of information she shared with him before he took his place a few feet away from her. Before he could conjure up any powers he saw a smirk cross Eve's face before he lifted his fist and punched himself in the face. He staggered backward a bit before he shot a deadly glare at her as the rest of them fell into a fit of laughter.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," Eve said through her giggles.

"Yeah, apparently neither could I." James drawled, as he rubbed the side of his face. "No more messing around, I'm not going easy on you either."

"Good, bring it." She said as she narrowed her purple eyes at him.

Her concentration was lost when she heard a light buzzing in her ears and then felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She looked back at James who was already surrounded by lightning. A loud snap of electricity beside her made her jump back and put a shield of energy around herself.

He threw a bolt of lightning at her shield and watched the electrical currents cover her protective dome. They traveled down into the ground and then up underneath inside of it before she felt it hit her body and send her flying back onto the ground.

Eve picked herself back up as James was laughing at her with a smug look. He closed his hands together before pulling them apart again letting electrical waves dance back and forth between his hands. He formed a giant orb of lightning and threw it as hard as he could at her. He was surprised when Eve ran right at it instead of away from it and caught it in her hand. She used a small dome of energy to catch the ball of electricity and watched it sporadically shoot all around in the palm of her hand.

She just stared at it for a moment before she let it absorb into her hand.

She looked at James. "My turn." She said before she released the electricity into her hand again and built off the energy of it making two balls form.

She walked towards him with them.

"You can throw them at me, but it's not like electricity is going to hurt me." He scoffed, teasing her strategy.

She threw it at the ground right in front of him along with her own powers. The ground in front of him exploded as he felt his body be thrown across the field. He hit the floor hard as he felt all the wind knocked out of him and just laid there for a moment as a painful moan escaped his mouth.

"I think I'm dead." He winced, as he grabbed his ribs.

"You're fine, come on, get up." Eve laughed as she held her hand out for him.

"Easy for you to say, you're still standing." He shot back as he tried to sit up.

"What if this was the real thing? You'd give up and lay there like a little bitch?" she asked, folding her arms and looking down at him as laughter from the rest of them was heard clear across the field.

"Wow, geez, I'm sorry my body isn't built to be flung and slammed into the earth at high speeds." James sarcastically snapped as he reached up to take her hand.

The large amount of electricity still running through James' body brought Eve to her knees with a painful scream. Her hand was tightly clamped onto his as her body shook from the shock that ran through her. It was the unbearable stabbing pain in her head that had her cries of pain filling the air.

James couldn't make out the images that flashed through his head, all he could see was water. He heard screaming and splashing but nothing he could clearly see or make sense of. He locked eyes with Eve who seemed frozen in place as she too saw the same images he did. He swore it was a memory and not a very good one, it sounded like someone being drowned.

He finally unclasped his hand from hers as his powers died down a bit and watched Eve wrap her hand around the necklace Scorpius gave her. Everything seemed back to normal and nobody else seemed to see what they both saw as they continued to practice.

"I'm sorry, are you ok?" he asked her, offering his hand out to her.

She hesitantly looked at it before she felt it was safe enough to take and let him help her up.

"It's fine... I'm fine." She said.

"Eve, was that your memory? Was that you?" he couldn't help but ask.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes and quickly shook her head to indicate that the subject was off limits.

She quickly cleared her throat and wiped her face. "Your powers are incredible, they're strong and well developed. Your father would be really proud of you." She through her heavy breaths, changing the topic.

He just looked at her. "You think so?"

"Of course, why wouldn't he be?"

"I don't know, I never really had the chance to talk to him about my powers... I kept them from him. I was going to tell him when... all of this happened." He said, looking at the ground as he realized just how much he missed his father.

Eve couldn't help but smile at the doubts James had.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's just..." she paused as she thought back to the day she tapped into Harry's mind when he was an emotional mess. "He misses you terribly and he loves you more than you could ever possibly imagine... that's all." She simply said, deciding to leave it at that.

He gave her a small smile before he nodded at her words.

"Ok, let's get back to it." She said as she held out her hand for him to take. "Do it again, I need to figure out how to overcome it."

"Are you sure?"

She let out a shaky breath before she nodded.

He let a small trail of electricity form along his fingers before he hovered over her hand for a moment. He looked at her one last time before he grabbed her hand and she instantly fell to her knees once more. He tried to let her hand go but she kept her fingers tightly gripped around him.

She had her eyes tightly closed as she let the electricity run through her and soon accepting the feeling of it. She found her bearings and held her other hand out in front of her letting a telekinetic shield of energy form in front of her as the humming of electrical waves danced across it. She finally released her grip from James and took the large dome she made and threw it up into the air and watched it shoot lightning down from it like a storm cloud.

As the lightning hit the ground James redirected it towards the rest of them. Aurora used her powers to slow the electrical streams down and watched them form long, abstract jagged pieces across the field all around them. Eve used her powers to make them start to tremble and crack making them start to fall. Ember released a tall wall of flames that traveled across the now icy field making all shards and pieces of ice melt and it started to rain down on all of them.

All of them stopped for a moment to feel the cool rain hit their faces as the light of the rising sun lit up the field. It may have seemed silly, but it was so peaceful and calming to see. It made them feel a bit more united and confident that they would succeed; like there was hope for all of them and their parents.

Scorpius walked to the center of the field as the rain continued to fall and slowly lifted his hand up letting the rain hit palm. After a moment the rain started to slow down, and it turned to snow and started to fall a little faster. He turned to look at Ember who was staring back at him.

"We're going to win." She said softly before he nodded and pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Harry closed the same book he had read for the third time and tossed it aside on the couch before looking over into Draco's room. It had been almost two days since anyone had even come into their lab room. They had no idea where Ginny was or if she was ok and Draco had seemed to be taking it hard. Harry tried to talk to him to get him to stay somewhat hopeful still, but he wouldn't respond.

"Draco?" he softly called over to him. Harry gave a hard sigh before he rubbed his face. "Draco, I'm trying to keep my sanity in this place, but to do that I really need you to talk to me." He pleaded.

Harry just continued to stare at the blond sitting on the floor of his room by the wall.

"Imagine the kids don't even miss us and they're just partying it up out there?" Harry lightly joked as he walked over and joined Draco on the other side of the wall.

His small smile faded when he saw his poor attempt at humor didn't do a thing.

"I bet you anything-"

"Stop." Draco cut him off, his voice hoarse as he finally looked up at him.

His eyes were red and puffy and there were dark circles under them, his face even paler than normal. He started to laugh to himself quietly at the situation they were in.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked.

"This... this whole thing. I mean we've obviously lost; we aren't getting out of here. Then you..." he trailed off as he started to laugh a little harder this time. "You're still acting like there's a way out. We can't even get out of here so how do you expect someone to try and get in here to get us out? You're crazy for still having hope... let it go Potter."

"I won't and neither should you."

Draco just shrugged at him, tears in his eyes without little effort or an attempt to conceal them. He was becoming unhinged with every passing hour in this lab and Harry was desperately trying to keep him mentally stable.

"Draco, listen to me-" he stopped talking when he saw Draco turn away from him and completely ignore him altogether.

He felt his heart sink a bit at his actions and felt less and less hopeful with every passing day. He was running out of things to say and things to do to keep himself from going crazy at this point along with Draco. He just knew they were running out of time.

* * *

"Ok, I think it's time we all shared any kind of information we're keeping from each other now before we head to Adwell Labs tomorrow," Hermione said firmly, as she looked around the table at everyone.

They were all quiet.

"Let's put the fact that there's a spy among, or rather, that we think there is a spy amongst us. We can't hope to succeed if we are all at each other's throats or don't trust one another." McGonagall chimed in.

Eve looked across the table at Ellie as their conversation from earlier replayed in her mind. "Riley told me she met my sister... Jade."

Everyone turned to her. "Who's Jade?" they all asked.

Eve shrugged. "That's a great question. It's the first time I've heard of her." She said as she gestured to Noah.

They all looked at him.

"We had another sister... Lucy, she died during an experiment when she was little. I only knew about her, not Jade. I have no clue who this supposable sister is." He explained through a fit of coughs.

"Riley, what did Jade say to you?" Hermione asked.

Riley shook her head a bit. "Not much, just that she was Eve's sister and then she just checked on my wound and took more blood. She didn't share anything else with me."

"And Noah? Anything else that you're hiding that maybe you want to share with us?" Ember snapped.

He went to go off on her when Eve's hand on his made him sit back in his chair and clear his throat.

"Ok, listen," Eve spoke up. "Let's start talking about a game plan here. I have an idea but it's crazy."

"Attempting to break into Adwell Labs is crazy to begin with, so an idea to possibly make it any easier is welcomed," Ron said.

"Ok, well I think that we need to get someone in there first. As soon as we are about to enter Adwell labs we need to offer someone up as bait."

"Bait?" Ember snapped. "That's ridiculous."

"I know how it sounds, but more than likely they will take them down to the floor that Draco, Ginny, and Harry are on. Possibly even the exact room because all of the initial testing and evaluations get done down there."

"Fine, then I'll offer myself up," Scorpius said without hesitation.

"That's not happening if anything I'll go." Ember snapped.

Before an argument could break out of who was going to be the guinea pig Eve spoke up again.

"Actually... it can't be either of you. The thing is we need them to not put one of those neck devices on you. If they put one on then the plan won't work. When they brought Riley in they knew she didn't have powers so she wasn't restrained by any sort of device. My father is very particular with how he processes new subjects that enter the lab. He doesn't want anything to mess with their magical abilities until he runs all the tests that he needs."

"Ok, well all of us have powers and they won't take anyone else who doesn't have powers, so who is going in?" James pointed out.

"Honestly, it should be Aurora," Eve said hesitantly.

"Fuck that, that is not happening," James said firmly.

"Why me?" Aurora asked out of curiosity.

"Because they don't know that you have powers, they won't inject or put any kind of device on you until you get to the actual lab. Once you're in there you need to take down whatever guards are around and get your parents out. Once you leave that room the alarms will already sound but the rest of us will be in place already to back you up."

Everyone was silent.

"She's right, I know how my father is when it comes to admitting a new person to the lab. Everything is precise and since you haven't exhibited your powers out in the open like that they don't think you have any. They will assume of course that you do and eventually secure you once you're in the lab, but initially on the way to the lab they won't, just a simple binding charm." Noah explained.

Aurora was overwhelmed by the task put upon her, but she didn't dare show it. She gave a firm nod to the information being fed to her before she gave James a reassuring nod that she would be ok.

"How about a plan to get there or better yet, get out?" Ron stated. "As soon as things go south we need to get the hell out of there."

"Ok, so only Ministry officials can Portkey and apparate to and from the island. Kingsley, Matthew or I can get us there, but we have to walk on foot to the entrance, or more so to the back entrance which we will need to fight to make our way inside most likely." Hermione explained.

"I guess I'll be the one to point out that to pull this off we'll all need to have some kind of teamwork here." Riley suddenly spoke up. "Everyone isn't exactly getting along right now." She stated; her voice filled with anger.

"I agree, I mean we could be telling our exact plan to the spy right now," Ellie said.

"You're right, so let's plan as if Adwell is there waiting for us," Hermione said.

"If my father really is waiting for us, then you can bet there is going to be more than just guards waiting for us there. I have no doubt he has some of his freak experiments on standby." Noah added.

"By freak experiments do you mean my mother?" Scorpius snapped angrily.

"I didn't mean her specifically, but if we're expecting the unexpected... then yes. We have no idea what sort of mental state she's in or if her mind is even her own." Noah stated.

The table grew quiet.

"I think we should get back to practicing and finalize plans later." Molly chimed in as she could feel the tension growing between everyone. "You all should be out there practicing, even you lot who don't have powers."

"She's right, there will be plenty of opportunity for your powers to be disabled there or unavailable to you. Some floors are designed to block all magical ability and wand magic as well. We need to be ready in every way possible." Eve continued.

After a few nods, people started clearing the room to head back outside for practice while Eve followed Noah to the bathroom as he started having another coughing fit.

"Hey, are you ok?" she asked him as she saw he seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

"Just dying is all." He sarcastically said through his heavy breathing.

"Look at me for a second." She said as she grabbed his face to look at her.

He watched her eyes grow a bit wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Your eyes... they're changing." She whispered.

He looked into the bathroom mirror to see a dark yellow tint in his eyes. He felt a large lump form in his throat at what could possibly be inside of him. It was disturbing that he was fine with dying from whatever was inside, rather than turning into some sort of monster.

"It's probably just a side effect... if I'm lucky I'll be dead before we head out tomorrow." He said as he splashed water on his face.

She roughly grabbed his shoulder to turn him to face her. "Don't say that. Noah... I know we barely know each other as siblings, but since we've been here together I actually feel like you're my brother. I can't lose you; I know you've done some shitty things and I know Father had a lot to do with your poor decisions, but right here, right now... I know you're not the same man you were before. You are the only person I have left; you need to fight this... we may not have anything left to fight for, but we have each other and right now... that's enough for me."

He just looked at her, he was impressed by how much Eve had grown in such a short time as a person. To see her talking and acting like a real person rather than an experiment that their father kept locked up in a room for years. He felt a stronger bond with Eve now than he ever had in the past. The fact that she was able to express herself as she just had pulled at his heartstrings.

He slowly nodded at her words before he felt her tightly hug him. It was such a genuine hug and her hold on him made him feel the small amount of love she might have for him as a sister. It took him a moment to hug her back as he fought back the bit of tears that surfaced in his eyes.

* * *

The sound of the door being thrown open made Ginny jump in surprise and quickly hide her hand behind her back. It was Jade again and she just stood there for a moment and looked at Ginny.

"What do you have?" she asked her.

"Nothing," Ginny said.

Jade slowly walked over to the bed that Ginny was sitting down on and looked down at her. Ginny just met her gaze and stared at her firmly before Jade suddenly grabbed a handful of her hair and turned her head a bit.

"You're trying to take your implant out." She said sounding impressed as she reached behind Ginny and grabbed the small metal shard she formed from her hand. "This is what you're trying to use?" She laughed. "That's going to hurt and cause you quite the infection." She pointed out as she looked at the small cut Ginny had formed on her neck.

"I don't care, I'm just trying to get out of here. I want to see Draco and Harry... I want to see my family." Ginny demanded.

"Leaving here would be the biggest mistake of your life. You're unstable, without that implant and that neck device you'll walk right up to your own child and slit their throat without a second thought." Jade warned her.

"I would never hurt the people I love." Ginny fumed.

"You wouldn't... but your powers are so strong that your mind is completely absent when they fully surface. So knowingly, of course, you wouldn't... but the destructive monster my father has turned you into? Definitely."

Ginny stood up right in front of her and stared her down. "I want to see Draco... NOW!" she yelled.

Jade just gave her a wide smile. "No."

Ginny swung her fist so fast at Jade's face she made her stumble back at the sudden impact giving Ginny a chance to make a run towards the door.

"Your daughter!" Jade suddenly yelled out making Ginny stop in the doorway. "I'll take you to see your daughter." Jade offered as she wiped the blood from her nose.

"Daughter? How?" Ginny asked.

Jade walked over to her and roughly grabbed her arm. "I'll show you." She said with a sneer as she dragged her from the room.

Ginny was confused as ever when she mentioned her daughter. Did she mean her baby? She followed her to a lower level and down a long hallway. She could hear crying and screaming in the distance from what she assumed were other people being experimented on. They finally stopped outside of one of the rooms and Jade unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a dark room.

"Riley, your mother is here," Jade called into the room.

Ginny snapped her head over to Jade when she heard Riley's name. "Riley? I don't understand. I thought Riley escaped with Noah and Eve?"

"I know... that's what they think too. This is the real Riley... the Riley that escaped with them... is a clone." Jade said with an evil smirk.

 **A/N: Ok, so what do you think? I thought I would get into the attempted rescue in this chapter but I felt there were some things that still had to be build off of first and the chapter went on longer than I thought. I would love your feedback! Please comment =D**

 **If you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. I post chapter previews, updates, etc on there so hope to see you there.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: OK, so finally an update! So sorry you guys have been waiting so long lately. I usually update sooner than this but my mom's been in and out of the hospital so its been a bit hectic.**

 **If I used chapter titles this one would indeed go something along the lines of "A Long Night" LOL because most of this chapter does take place the night before they head to Adwell Labs.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

Ginny had been sitting on the bed beside Riley for the last half hour just looking her over. She wiped the few tears that still streamed down her face at seeing the horror her daughter had been going through this whole time. She had been in this lab for so long now that she forgot what it felt like to hug her children or hear the sound of their laughter. She missed her mother and how she hoped she was ok after her father's death. So many things just broke her heart to pieces, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep it together. She was starting to think that allowing her powers to take over her mind was the only relief she might feel from all the pain in her heart... to just forget everything.

She quickly wiped the new tears from her face when she saw Riley's eyes flutter open and look up at her.

"M-Mum?" she choked out in a small hoarse voice.

Ginny smiled down at her. "Yes, Sweetheart."

She saw Riley sink back in her pillow a bit and attempt to move away from her. "What's wrong with you?" she asked in a frail voice.

Ginny's heart sank a bit. "It's ok... nothing is wrong." She said as she tried to sound confident in her statement.

Riley sat up, letting her mother help her a bit. "You look different... your eyes. Are you really my mother?" she asked through her cracking voice.

Ginny slowly reached up with one hand to cup the side of her face. She could feel Riley relax as soon as she felt her mother's touch and then threw her arms around her tightly.

Ginny pulled back a bit when she felt Riley's neck device against hers. "Have they... surfaced?" she hesitantly asked, unsure of what she wanted the answer to be.

Riley looked down at the burn marks on her hands and arms and held them up for her mother to see. "Fire... like you." She said softly.

Ginny looked at her daughter's pained expression before she took in her burns and gently traced one of them with her fingers. "I don't understand... why do you have these then?"

"Because they were forced out of her." Came Jade's voice from the doorway before she entered the room. "Her powers didn't naturally surface so her body doesn't know how to respond to them, so they are causing her more harm than anything."

"That's barbaric." Ginny scowled, getting up and taking a step towards Jade out of anger.

"Well, that is Father's style so I wouldn't expect anything less." She shrugged. "It's time to go, so say your goodbyes."

Ginny turned back to Riley and grabbed her face in her hands. "You stay strong my Sweet." She bent down and leaned her forehead against hers. "Own those powers of yours... you are amazing, and I love you so very much."

Riley looked at her with teary eyes as she felt her mother's kiss on her forehead and watched her leave the room.

* * *

She pushed herself up from the wet grass so fast she barely had time to think about the burn mark on her neck. She got right in Ember's face before shoving her backward in anger.

"You did that on purpose!" Raven yelled as she roughly shoved her again.

Ember took a step towards her again, her fists tightly clenched. "It was an accident, they slipped!" she yelled back.

"You've had your powers for how long and have been practicing for weeks with them and they just suddenly slipped and almost burned my face off?"

Ember shrugged. "I guess so."

"Ember, no powers! Just hand to hand combat right now!" Hermione yelled from the porch as she took a sip of water. "I swear those two are going to kill each other before tomorrow comes."

Blaise just watched the two girls from the porch steps as he shook his head. "Ember has a lot of anger towards her... rightfully so." He admitted.

Hermione threw her hair up into a messy bun before she sat down beside him. "She's not a bad person Blaise, she just made a bad decision and unfortunately her mistake hurt more than one person. She's going to get a lot of shit for it for a while... but she'll be ok." She said as she gave him a soft pat on the knee before she joined the others on the field again.

She walked over to Eve as she watched her become deep in thought as she watched the rest of them practicing.

"What are you thinking Eve?"

The sound of Hermione's voice made her jump. "Oh, I'm just observing..." she trailed off.

"Observing...?"

"Hey guys, let's take a time out real quick!" Eve suddenly yelled out to them as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

They had been practicing for over twelve hours nonstop except for the occasional water and food break. They were working together a lot better than they had previously besides the snide remarks between Ember and Raven. Eve had used her powers to project a very similar layout of the lab and so far the plan seemed hopeful.

"What's up? I was just about to kick Jake's arse all over this field." Scorpius teased, slapping Jake on the back before he threw his arm over his shoulders.

They all huddled in a small circle, Ember's eyes quickly glancing at Jake as she felt his eyes on her.

"I just want to give you a few tips that I think will maximize our chances of putting up a strong defense. You guys need to pay attention to what powers are being used around you and build off them. When you guys work together while using them it will be the most powerful. Also, I think it will be best to make sure we keep James from getting hit with a disablement charm in there. If one of you get hit with one then James can just use his powers to help you shake it off." Eve explained.

"You mean purposely use my powers on one of them? Like a jolt to get their powers to surface again?" James asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

"I can't, I mean practicing is one thing, but using it to stir up another's powers? I don't want to be responsible for hurting someone." He doubted himself.

"You won't." Aurora suddenly spoke up. "I remember when you first showed me your powers, you have more control of them then you think." She walked over to him and gently took both of his hands in hers. "You were the most confident person when it came to your powers and then you only started questioning them after everything with Noah and Scorpius happened. Believe me... you just have to stop being afraid of them or afraid of hurting someone with them." She finished with a smile.

Her words meant everything to him and gave him that confidence and boost he needed. He watched her stumble back a bit when someone hit her with a disabling charm.

"What the hell?" she snapped at Scorpius.

"Well, I figured we should test this out and you're the obvious choice." He shrugged. "If he hurts you then fuck the rest of us."

"Gee thanks," James mumbled.

"Ok, James, go ahead but remember... don't overthink it." Hermione reminded him.

He nodded before he looked at Aurora and into her sparkling eyes. He let out a long breath before he held his hand out in front of her as he felt the tingling sensation reach his fingertips. His mind went to that night on the Astronomy tower with her when they shared their first kiss. How he revealed his secret to her and how beautiful their powers really were. He suddenly felt all the pressure he had been feeling subside and trusted his instincts as a web of electricity danced through the air and hit her.

She immediately felt the ice run through her veins stronger than she ever had before. The ground beneath her freezing and the air around them turning cold. She quickly regained control before a smile stretched across her face.

"Whoa, that was amazing." She said through her heavy breaths.

"This is a huge advantage," Eve said. "If we keep you from getting hit with any sort of disabling charm then it won't matter if the rest of us get hit. You are the key to that dilemma."

"Why is it that we're all listening to you? You could be leading us right into a trap." Raven snapped.

Eve just glared at her before her expression softened a bit. "You're right, I could be...none of you have to listen to anything I say. I'm just trying to help by offering what I know." She said quietly as she suddenly grew timid.

"I think you've been more than helpful Eve. You've even helped Ellie develop her powers and provided an almost accurate layout of the lab which will be extremely beneficial when we enter it." Hermione said to her as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, a layout that could be totally wrong." Raven shot back. "You're so willing to trust her when she could be playing us all."

"Why don't you shut your damn mouth," Ember growled taking a step towards her. "If anyone seems like a spy amongst us it's you. After all, it's not the first time you've betrayed one of us." She stated angrily, her eyes narrowing a bit as she glared at her.

Raven fell silent at her comment before she glanced over at Scorpius and walked off.

* * *

Riley heard a knock on her door later that evening that she tried to ignore until it became more insistent and she finally gave in to see who it was.

"What?" she snapped as she ripped the door open.

"I want you to come fly with me," Harper said.

"No."

"Why not? Everyone is freaking out about tomorrow and I'm not much help to any of them. I just want to have a bit of fun, please?" she begged her sister.

Riley just looked at her. "I hate flying and I'm too busy worrying about Mum and Dad." She said as she sat down on her bed.

"They're going to be fine, that's what Grandma and Aunt Hermione said," Harper reassured her as she sat beside her.

"I think they're dead." Riley bluntly stated as she looked at Harper.

"Don't say that!" Harper yelled angrily, her hazel eyes desperately trying to hold her tears in.

"I'm just saying, if you prepare for the worst... then you won't be disappointed if they really are. You need to grow up Harper and stop acting like a little kid all the time. You can't just go flying around on a broom to solve all your problems."

She watched Harper's bottom lip tremble, but her eyes narrowed in anger. She quickly ran from the room before any of her tears could be seen falling.

"Damn, that was harsh." Came Noah's voice from the hallway as he was passing.

Riley got up and followed him into his room. She looked his condition over and his rundown appearance. "You know... if you're fighting whatever is inside of you... you shouldn't. It will stop hurting once you let it out." She said from his doorway.

He looked at her. "Yeah, well that's easier said than done since I'm not quite sure what I'll be letting out." He said as he threw himself down on the couch and laid his head back.

Riley walked over to his window and looked at the sun setting. She whipped his curtains back to let the warm rays of sun hit his face and creep into his room.

"I think there might be a full moon tonight." She said looking at him. "You don't want to miss seeing that." She said with a small smile.

He barely paid attention to her through his coughing and the pain he felt; his body did nothing, but throb and he was completely exhausted all the time. She watched him close his eyes and start to doze off before she walked over to him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Everything will be over soon." She whispered.

* * *

Scorpius was sitting on his bed with his hand out in front of him holding a small ball of ice. He concentrated on it for a good while trying to absorb it back into his hand but couldn't seem to do so before it started melting. He tossed it in the small garbage can in his room before he saw Eve pass his room and he quickly poked his head out.

"Hey, can you help me with something?" he asked her.

"Sure." She simply said before she made her way into his room.

He saw Raven making her way down the hall as well and quickly shut the door before she could talk to him, making Eve let out a small giggle.

"I just can't right now with her." He sighed before he walked over to Eve. "Anyway, I want to be able to absorb this." He said as he formed another small ball of ice in his hand. "But no matter how hard I try... it's not working." He explained as he held his hand out in front of her.

He was a lot closer to her than he intended to be, his eyes piercing into hers. She noticed with each passing day how the color in his eyes changed from a light brown to hazel and now to a light gray. Whenever she felt his eyes on her she felt so vulnerable, when he looked at her she actually felt like a real person for once.

"Can I?" she asked him as she held her hands up to the side of his head.

He nodded.

"Just focus on trying to absorb it." She said softly.

He did as she said before he noticed her eyes turn purple for a quick moment as she tapped into his mind. After a few seconds, she took a small step back and looked at him with a small smirk.

"You're focusing too much on the physical part of it and not enough on the mental part. Just think that you want to absorb it, don't actually physically try to absorb it... because you're just overthinking it and then you just keep forming more ice. Make sense?"

"Pft, no," he said as he looked back at the ice.

"I mean, that ice in your hand right now wouldn't be there if it wasn't for you. Now that the ice is formed you can control it just as you would if we were out there on the field. It's yours, do whatever you want with it." She tried to further explain.

He just looked at the ball of ice in his palm before he cleared his mind and quickly made a fist. He was surprised when the solid ball of ice was more of a mushy pile of slush and it spilled through his fingers and down his arm.

"See, it's a start, a little more practice and it will be second nature." She said with a smile.

"Awesome, thanks. You're good at this shit."

She scoffed at his comment. "Yeah, well, when you're forced to study people your entire life or expect to perform and perfect your powers for experimental purposes... one tends to pick up on a thing or two." She said softly, looking at the floor.

He saw the sadness in her eyes and her defeated demeanor. "What's wrong?"

She looked back up at him and just shook her head.

"Something is wrong... I mean more than the usual. I can't read minds, so you'll have to actually share your feelings with me." He smirked.

A small smile crossed her lips before she looked down at her fidgeting hands. "It's just... tomorrow if all of this goes well... I don't know what will happen to me. Let's say we succeed in rescuing your parents and Harry and even maybe take down my father, what do I do? I have nobody... no family... I mean, I have Noah of course..." she trailed off. She could tell he was listening for her next words as she looked up at him. "What about you? I won't see you anymore."

"Eh, I'm not that special." He said waving his hand.

She hesitated a bit before she spoke again. "You are to me." She said locking eyes with him.

"Me? Why?" he asked in amusement.

"Because you're kind to me and treat me like a real person and not some sort of outcast. I know it may not mean much to you, but it does to me. I've missed so much of my life... I just keep thinking if I die tomorrow-"

"You're not going to die; we're all getting out of there... alive."

"But if I do... I just keep thinking about how many things I haven't experienced, like normal everyday things that someone who lived a regular life would have experienced. Something so simple as just getting a hug from someone that loves you... a parent's embrace. Even having a friend or laughing until I cry or even a kiss." she stopped and shook her head at how pathetic her life was.

His heart ached for her, he really liked Eve... a lot actually. She was so different than anyone he had ever met. He found her inexperience with normal day-to-day activities and interactions quite amusing but also found it somewhat beautiful to watch her adapt. The fact that she was the daughter of Jack Adwell was unbelievable, she was too nice of a person... too beautiful of a person to be related to somebody so evil.

"Listen, you'll have plenty of time in your life to experience all of those things. As for having a friend, I'm your friend and I am more than capable of making you laugh until you cry." He said smugly, making her give a small giggle. "I'm also definitely capable of hugs and as for a kiss, I can definitely help you out with that. I mean, I'm a single man now so... "

She snapped her eyes up to meet his, surprised by his offer. She wasn't sure what to say but apparently, her face and eyes gave him the go ahead as he took a step towards her. She was completely frozen in place as he approached her and looked down at her. She felt like her body was trembling, but it was completely still.

He leaned down closer to her, his face only a few inches from hers. "Ready?"

"Am I supposed to be?" she asked.

"I don't know, I've never kissed anyone on cue before." He joked, making her smile. He noticed her gently grab the stone around her neck and run her thumb over it. "Nervous?" he smirked.

She just locked eyes with him. "Something like that." She whispered.

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders for her to properly face him and then slowly lowered his lips to hers. Eve watched him getting closer to her and she swore her heart would beat right out of her chest at any moment. The feel of his hand on her shoulders alone was a feeling she had never felt before. She felt her stomach fluttering and he hadn't even kissed her yet.

Finally, she felt his lips against hers and she softly pressed hers to his. Her eyes were barely closed before it was over, and she felt him pull away slightly. She opened her eyes to see him staring at her, everything had completely stopped around them. She swore time was standing still as his eyes pierced into hers.

As soon as Scorpius felt his lips on hers he knew he was in trouble. When he pulled back and looked at her with the taste of her kiss still on his lips, it was as if some great mystery in his life had finally been solved. Like the pieces to some imaginary puzzle he didn't know existed were standing right in front of him. Her big brown eyes just stared back at him, he could tell she was terrified by whatever was going through her head right now and as much as everything seemed to suddenly make sense for him, he too felt scared at what his heart was telling him.

He looked at her bottom lip tremble a bit before he locked eyes with her once more. "Fuck." Was the only thing running through his head as the realization hit him and he crashed his lips to hers again.

This time she met him halfway as his hands moved from her shoulders up to her face to pull her closer to him. He kissed her with such force he felt her grab onto his shirt to keep herself from falling back. Once he started passionately kissing her and noticed she was more than ok with it by the way she kissed him back, he didn't think he would ever stop. He hadn't realized how he really felt about Eve until this moment.

One of his hands traveled to the small of her back where he slipped his hand under her shirt. The feel of her silky-smooth skin beneath his fingers made him kiss her even harder, making her step back until she hit the wall. He felt one of her hands slide to the nape of his neck and the other under his shirt. The feel of her hand on his chest made this moment so much more real. He started to question where this moment was going, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about screwing her senseless against his bedroom wall right now. He searched for some sort of self-control as he pressed his body harder against hers.

He pulled back finally and looked at her again, her lips red and swollen from his forceful kisses. He looked at her purple eyes as she completely let herself inside of his mind, everything he was thinking was on display right now for her to read. He could see that she was questioning every movement she did and this moment all together. Reading his mind was the only guideline she had on what to do next and with that, she slipped her top off.

The last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of her, but her actions were pretty powerful and were turning more confident with every passing moment. He locked eyes with her again before he picked her up and pinned her against the wall. Her legs wrapping around his waist as he kissed her chest and neck. The amount of heat and passion between them right now was unstoppable and there was almost no turning back.

He felt a coldness beneath his skin start to surface and his heart raced even faster than it already had been. His hands and fingers turned ice cold as they traveled her body and she didn't mind it at all. Although she didn't mind it he panicked a bit and went to reach up to her necklace for the stone. Before he could touch it, he felt Eve pull his hand away and look at him before her purple eyes studied his face for a moment. He could feel her body start to turn cold also until just like him, her fingers and hands were ice cold too.

He couldn't help but think about the advice that Ember gave James about trusting the other if ever his powers surfaced during a moment like this. He didn't know why, and he couldn't help his feelings at all, but he completely trusted Eve in every way possible right now. He knew she could tell how bad he wanted her in the most sinful way and surprisingly he knew she was more than willing.

As they continued to grope each other, and his hand slid up to unclasp her bra he suddenly stopped and just looked at her. She was breathing heavily from how riled up they both were and there was just something in her eyes and on her face that told him to not go any further. As much as he wanted to continue, there was this innocence about her that he didn't feel he should tamper with... not now anyway.

He started to shake his head. "We can't." he breathed out, his forehead against hers and his hands still holding her close to him. "You need to go." He suddenly said as he finally released his hold of her.

He didn't even look at her, he couldn't... mostly because he knew he would just pick up where he left off, but also because he knew the look on her face was probably heartbreaking right now. He could tell she was just staring at him in shock at his abrupt stop. He tried so hard to not look at her but after a moment of silence between them he couldn't take it and glanced up at her and immediately regretted it.

She slipped her top back on and broke all eye contact with him altogether as embarrassment set in. "Sorry." She whispered before she quickly left his room.

"Eve, wait!" he called after her, but she was already out of sight.

He cursed under his breath at how stupid his actions were. Why would he do something so inconsiderate? He knew how fragile her feelings were right now and to act on his own selfish ones was wrong. He almost thought about running after her, but he was still shocked at his own feelings towards Eve that he decided to leave things alone for now.

* * *

It was a little after midnight when Eve's eyes snapped open from a loud crash she heard in another room. She sat up and the sound of whimpering could be heard from afar which prompted her to open her door and stick her head out into the hall. She wasn't the only one that woke up from the noise as she saw a few other people come out into the hallway also.

"What's going on? Is everyone ok?" Hermione asked as she quickly scanned the hall to make sure nobody was injured.

Eve met Scorpius' gaze for a brief moment across the hall before she turned her attention to another sound coming from Noah's bedroom. As she approached his room she had this sinking feeling in her stomach. She hesitantly turned the knob of his door and slowly pushed it open all the way to reveal a dark bedroom with just the light of the moon shining in. She could tell the room was trashed as she took in the debris all over the floor.

"N-Noah?" she softly called out into the dark room.

She looked around the room and saw nobody until a pair of big yellow eyes appeared in the dark corner and locked with hers. She felt all the breath leave her body as those yellow eyes came closer to her. Her eyes widened as he stepped into the light and she found herself staring into the eyes of a werewolf.

Her body stiffened as he stepped towards her and she found her back against the wall.

Scorpius grabbed his wand and went to help when Hermione grabbed him before he could attempt it.

"Wait. Don't rile him up, if you go in there with the intention of harming him this could turn deadly." She warned him.

"Deadly? There's a fuckin werewolf in the house and he could kill Eve any second." He snapped as he tried to rip his arm free of her grip.

"Stop!" she yelled before she pushed him back and had Ron grab a hold of him. "Listen to me, don't be stupid." She gave him a hard glare.

Eve became paralyzed by fear as Noah walked closer to her, she could tell he was confused. He just kept sniffing her until he was face to face with her and his yellow eyes pierced into hers. She noticed throughout his body there were parts that were covered in metal and that's when she realized what had been inside of him all this time. One of her father's experiments were staring her right in the face.

"Noah, it's ok... you're ok." She tried to reach him.

She thought she had reached through to him when he suddenly released this loud roaring howl in her face. She couldn't help the terrified scream that left her mouth as she felt the heat of his breath and bit of saliva from his roar hit her face. She bolted from the room as fast as she possibly could, grabbing his door behind her and slamming it shut in some poor attempt to keep him in.

It was only a moment before he busted through the door and a loud roar filled the house.

"It's like bloody third year all over again," Ron mumbled to Hermione as they all made a run for it.

"Yeah, except this one is bigger, faster and is protected by a considerable amount of impenetrable metal." Hermione quickly stated as they made a quick turn down a hall away from it.

Ember felt Jake's hand firmly wrapped around her wrist as he dragged her downstairs behind him. Noah jumped from the balcony of the stairs onto the floor below and landed right in front of them making them stop in in their tracks.

Jake could feel Ember get behind him, her fingernails digging into his arm in fear as Noah approached them with a raised hand ready to rip them to shreds. They barely had time to make a run for it as Noah swiped down and caught Jake's upper arm and flung him across the room. Ember wanted to run over to help him but if she didn't keep running she would surely be mauled to death by him.

She ran out into the field as Noah barreled behind her, she could feel him on her heels snapping his jaws as the very tips of her hair kept getting caught between his teeth as she ran for her life. She suddenly dived forward letting her entire body engulf in flames and glided through the air so that it made Noah slow down and stop.

Once he realized Ember was out of reach he turned his sights on someone else and ran full speed at them. As he ran towards Aurora and James a shard of ice grazed his shoulder and made him turn more aggressive. He turned to see it was Scorpius who had injured him and went to attack him when his legs started to stiffen as ice formed up from the ground and around his legs.

It didn't hold him for long as he busted through all of Scorpius' efforts to keep him still. Scorpius braced himself for the rapidly approaching beast when Eve's voice rang out.

"NOAH!" she screamed to get his attention.

Noah stopped and looked at her as she walked up to him, any fear she had before was pushed aside as her eyes turned to a deep purple. Noah just looked at her and then at Scorpius, a part of him wanting to tear the blond before him apart and the other was fixated on his sister. Eve held her hand up in front of her as her fingers trembled with that fear that came trickling back.

"Noah don't fight it... let me in," she said softly to him as she desperately tried to control his mind.

He let out a small whimper before he backed away from Scorpius and walked over to her. Eve was shocked when Noah allowed her hand to touch his head and after he blinked at her a few times she could see those yellow eyes start to fade and so did the form of a werewolf. She just watched Noah's body collapse to the ground before she was by his side and calling his name to wake up.

* * *

Jake let out a muffled scream as he bit down on the towel that Scorpius handed him.

"I'm sorry Dear, I know it stings." Mrs. Weasley said as she put a few more drops of a healing potion over the large claw marks across his arm.

Ember squatted down in front of him and laced her fingers with Jake's as her grandmother continued to work on his wound. She didn't care who was or wasn't a spy right now, all she knew was that Jake got hurt protecting her and she felt horrible for being so cold towards him lately.

"Luna is getting a pain relief potion for you, it will help a great deal, so take that and then try to rest," Molly said softly as she patted his hand. She got up and walked over to help Eve finish stitching up Noah's wound from Scorpius' powers. "How's he doing?" she asked.

Eve finished the last bit of stitching before she looked up at Molly. She let her question sink in a bit before she looked down at her brother. Of course, her father succeeded again and of course, he made another one of his children's lives a living hell. She was so angry, she never really knew what it felt like to hate someone, but she had a good feeling it was this exact feeling she had right now. She wanted him to hurt... to pay for everything he had done to so many innocent people.

"Eve, you didn't know-"

"Of course not." She cut Blaise off before he could ask her. "I knew something was off, but I didn't know what and this was the last thing I ever thought it would be." She said as her voice cracked a bit.

Noah jolted out of his unconscious state suddenly and looked around the room in confusion. After a few moments, everything he hoped was a dream became a reality as he took in the cut on his arm and Jake's injury across the room.

"Noah, calm down." Eve attempted to gently put her hands on his shoulders to push him back down on the couch as he fought to get up.

"It really happened. That was fuckin real? I can't be here, I have to get away from everyone, there's no way-"

"Noah, stop!" Eve said firmly as she gave him a hard shove backward. "You're not going anywhere; we'll figure this out."

"Figure this out? I'm a bloody fuckin werewolf, I really do belong locked inside of a lab!" he yelled out in anger as he laid back again and rubbed his face to wipe any emotion that threatened to surface.

The room grew silent.

"Noah, I'm wondering if maybe you're able to transform yourself at will, rather than wait for another full moon," Hermione said as her voice broke the silence.

"At will? Why the hell would I do that?"

Hermione looked at Eve, she could already tell Eve had figured out the kinks of Noah's new ability. "I'm just saying, once Eve tapped into your mind you changed back, which is a good thing, even though I know it doesn't seem that way. If you were a true werewolf you wouldn't have turned back yet until the full moon was no more."

"So, kind of like an Animagus?" James asked.

"Basically."

"Then why did he turn into one tonight of all nights?" Blaise asked.

"Because a full moon is what completed the process of whatever serum my father injected him with. Just like I have powers... these are your powers now." Eve said to Noah. "Now it's just learning to control yourself whenever you're transformed." She explained.

"Learning? There's nothing to learn, what do you think... that I'm just going to embrace these powers? I'm a monster." He said through clenched teeth as the reality of what was inside him now kicked in.

"I think it's kind of cool." Came Ellie's voice from across the room as everyone looked at her. "What? I'm just saying." She mumbled before she walked into the kitchen away from everyone's glares.

Noah started to tune out the conversation around him as he realized what he had become now. He felt a pair of eyes on him from across the room and glanced up to see Riley looking at him. He locked eyes with her for a few moments before remembering the words she said to him earlier in the night.

"It's you." He barely whispered.

"What?" Eve asked him as she leaned in closer.

"Riley... you're the spy... it's you." He said a bit louder as he continued to stare at her.

"Ok, I think you need to rest a bit more," Molly said as she attempted to have him lay back again.

He ignored her persistent hands. "You told me earlier to not fight what was inside of me. You knew what I was." He said in disbelief.

Riley just looked at him and then saw the eyes of everyone else in the room on her. "Surely you don't believe that?" She scoffed.

"Of course not, he's just delirious from earlier," Ember said defensively as she stepped in front of her sister.

"Eve, go ahead, read her mind and see for yourself." He said nodding towards Riley.

"You don't have to read anything because you're fuckin crazy." Ember spat.

"I believe Noah." Came a small voice from the stairwell.

Scorpius walked over to Harper when he could tell she was upset. "Harper, why don't you go back upstairs. I'll be up in a few to check on you." He said softly.

"She's different... she's not Riley... not our Riley," Harper said as angry tears filled her eyes.

"Harper, you know Riley has been through so much and-"

"So what? We all have, but we're still the same... just look at her Ember." She cried as she pointed a finger at Riley.

Ember hardly ever seen Harper cry and seeing her try to hold back her tears was breaking her heart. She broke her gaze with Harper to turn around and look at Riley and looked into her eyes. They were her normal eyes, but there was something off about the way she stared back at her.

"Ember, it's me... Riley... your sister." Riley said as she took Ember's hand in hers.

Ember looked down at her hand in Riley's and she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach at the feel of her touch. She slowly slid her hand out of her loose grasp and stepped back before she turned to Eve and gave her a small nod.

Eve just shook her head. "I can't."

"You can, I'm telling you, it's her." Noah snapped.

"No, I mean I can't read her mind, something is blocking me." She said as she took a step towards Riley. "Move your hair back." She said.

Riley took a small step back before she dashed from the room and went to run out the front door before a spell hit her and she fell to the floor. It was Aurora who straddled her and pinned her down to hold her still as she looked for the implant behind her ear. Aurora was so shocked when she saw it that she jumped back off of her as the reality of what Noah accused her sister of set in.

"That's why I haven't been able to read your mind this whole time," Eve said as she pieced it all together. "Riley... when did they put that in you?"

"When they made me." She said as she sat up from the floor.

"Made you?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm not really Riley... I mean I am, but I'm a clone. The real Riley is still at the lab, I was only switched out with her when Adwell knew Beckett wanted him to release me. Then, of course, escaping with Eve, Noah and Matthew was just a very happy accident." She explained.

"You need to rip that damn implant out and get into her head. Maybe she has information that could help us." Blaise said.

Riley reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small knife. "I can't let you do that."

Ember and the rest of her siblings were just in a state of shock about Riley. Knowing she had been in that lab this whole time having the most horrible things done to her made Ember's stomach turn.

"Riley, I know you're a clone, but I know you are a good person deep down because our Riley is. If you are her clone then that goodness must be inside of you too." Ember tried to coax her to their side.

"You're wrong. I may have her personality and even some memories to play the part, but I have been made for the sole purpose to serve Jack Adwell and to make sure none of his secrets are ever let out." She said as she brought the knife up to her neck. "No matter what." She said in barely a whisper before she slid the blade across her throat.

The action was so quick and unexpected that Ember barely had a chance to attempt to stop her. She knew this wasn't really Riley before her but seeing someone who was an exact clone of her sister was just as devastating to watch die as if it were the real thing. She couldn't help herself from catching Riley in her arms and trying to help her in some way. It didn't matter how much pressure she put on her throat in a pathetic attempt to stop the bleeding, it just kept pouring freely. Her hands were covered once again in her sister's blood as she watched the life drain from her eyes.

* * *

Scorpius squinted his eyes as the rising sun hit his face as he sat out on the porch. He could make out Ember's copper strands across the field sitting beside the spot they decided to bury Riley's clone. It was difficult to have witnessed something so tragic and burying her seemed like the only right thing to do. He watched his grandmother put her arm around her and hug her closer as she still spilled tears from the events earlier.

"Hey, we want to go over some stuff before we head out." Came Eve's voice from the doorway.

He nodded and saw Eve quickly turn to leave. "Eve!" he called out to stop her.

She stopped and looked at him through the screen door.

"Can we talk?"

She slowly opened the door and walked out onto the porch and followed him to the side of the house.

"What's up?" she asked as casually as she possibly could.

"Last night when-"

"It's fine, we don't have to talk about it." She quickly cut him off as she turned to leave.

"We do have to talk about it," he said as he gently grabbed her arm to turn her back to him. "I didn't mean to make you feel any type of way. Kissing you was a mistake." He could see the emotion in her face at his choice of words. "No, that's not what I meant, I just..." he trailed off as he tried to find the right words. "What I meant was that I enjoyed the kiss, very much so actually, it was great... you were great, it's just..." he trailed off again as he grew more nervous with each passing second of rambling.

He gently grabbed her shoulders as he saw her wanting to just run away from this conversation altogether. As he held onto her and looked into her eyes he felt a bit more confident and he tried to find his words once more.

"Listen, Eve... I like you... a lot. I just didn't want to take advantage of you and hurt you in any way. I didn't want you to do something you'd regret, and I would hate myself if I ever made you feel that way." He stopped talking and took in her reaction to see if his words made any kind of a difference to her.

She kept her head down at his words, he could tell she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Eve, if we were to die to today at that lab I just don't want you to think that you did anything wrong, that you weren't good enough... because you are. I thought I was doing the right thing by backing off but I guess I just kind of hurt your feelings anyway... I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, memories of the kiss she shared with him swam through her mind. If she had enough confidence she swore she would grab him and kiss him again, but she feared these feelings she had for him now. Were they genuine? Or were they only because she was new to the moment they shared last night? She wanted a peek inside of his mind so badly right now, but she fought the urge to enter it without his permission. When she focused on his eyes a little longer she felt the tiniest of smiles form on her face for a quick moment before she gave him a small nod.

"It's ok, I just... really like you too. We need to really be focused today so let's just put all that stuff aside for now?" she suggested.

He nodded before he pulled her into a hug. She was surprised by his action and didn't think he realized what he was doing either. The feeling of his arms around her made her want to completely melt into a puddle at his feet. His scent filled her nose and she didn't think she would ever forget it or how it made her feel.

He quickly pulled back and looked at her. "Uh, sorry... so yeah... I'll see you inside." He said before he walked back into the house.

* * *

Eve watched Luna and Molly hug everyone goodbye as they got ready to leave. It was heartwarming to see how much they all cared for each other. It made her yearn for a family of her own one day. She turned to Noah beside her who seemed to be thinking the same thing before he caught her looking at him and he quickly turned away.

"You ok?" she asked him.

He just looked at her with a look of hatred on his face. She knew it wasn't towards her but towards their father and what he had turned Noah into.

"You're going to be fine. We'll get through this." She said with a small smile before she laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a small squeeze.

"Alright guys huddle up!" came Hermione's voice as everyone gathered around. "Before we Portkey over-" she paused and looked at Scorpius' outfit. "You don't think you're overdressed for this particular occasion?" she asked him as she looked over his well-dressed form.

"Hell no, if I die, this is the outfit I'll die in so I'd look to look decent." He stated as if it were obvious to everyone else, causing a few snickers from the rest of them.

Hermione just shook her head before she continued. "Anyway, the goal is for nobody to die and to get Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Riley out of there safely and as quickly as possible. It is imperative that we all work together and stay on track like we've been practicing. Raven... Ember, are going to have a problem?"

Ember and Raven exchanged a quick look before they both shook their heads.

"Good. Aurora as soon as you give yourself up we should already be inside by the time you get to where your parents are."

"Should?" She asked, some worry in her voice.

"We just need to be ready for the unexpected. With Riley being a clone and feeding information to Adwell this whole time... we don't know how much he knows." Hermione explained.

"We will Portkey in two groups and when we are inside we will split up into smaller groups on each floor. The floor that blocks out all magical ability will be our biggest challenge." Kingsley chimed in. "Eve, was there anything else you wanted to add?"

She nodded. "I know this is easier said than done, but I would try to block out all emotion while you're in there. We have no idea what condition any of them are in or if they are even still alive, but finding out or seeing them will be hard to take in. Don't lose your head, you need to stay focused until we are completely out of there and off the island. Do you understand?"

There was a silence that filled the air around them before they all nodded.

"Another thing worth mentioning." Noah continued. "If Eve and I know our father, then we know he will have some of his experiments waiting for us there. He might even use Ginny against us, so... just be ready for anything."

"And also, as horrible as this is going to sound, if things get crazy and we need to leave, then we take who we can and get out of there... even if that means we can't save them all right now. That is the most crucial advice... it's a different world in there and an opportunity to get out of there once inside is slim to none." Eve finished.

"Alright... it's time," Kingsley said as he pulled out the two Portkeys.

Ember gave one last look up at the porch where her grandmother stood with Ava on her hip and Harper and Bella beside her. She locked eyes with Harper and gave a reassuring nod that she would be back before she felt a tug behind her navel.

* * *

Aurora's feet hit the ground and her heart started racing as anxiety filled her. She let out a shaky breath to try and calm herself. The last thing she wanted to do was have everyone see her so distraught about what she was about to do. She wanted them to feel confident in her abilities to get her part of the plan done.

She could hear the water from the shore in the distance as they started to walk through the woods toward the lab. There was something quite eerie about this place, even the sounds around them didn't seem the same. She hadn't realized her continued silence had lasted for almost fifteen minutes before she took in a building in the distance. If she thought there was an eerie feeling before, seeing the building that her parents and sister had been stuck in for months now was even more unsettling.

"Hey, are you sure you're ok with this? Because I'm not." James said quietly to her as they continued walking.

She couldn't even answer him, she just looked at him with wide eyes.

"Aurora?"

She snapped out of it before he started to panic. "I'm sure, I'll be fine. I'm nervous, but I need to do this. I'll do anything to save them."

"Aurora." Kingsley softly called to her and motioned for her to come over.

She gave James a small smile before she quickly made her way over to him and the others.

"That's A LOT of guards... there's no way we're getting inside," Aurora said as she peeked through the trees to see the perimeter of the lab.

"That's why you'll make an attempt to sneak in and get caught. Then when you're inside and you cause a distraction they will call for back up... and believe me, most of these guards will have no choice but to leave their posts once we get the rest of you guys inside." Eve explained. "Be careful, my father uses both magical and Muggle weapons for defense so put up a decent fight for the act, but don't get yourself killed either."

Aurora nodded at her words before Hermione gave her a long hard hug. Aurora felt her slip a small knife into her back pocket and then one down in her sock. She held up one more and gave it to her.

"Where do you want me to put that one?"

Hermione looked down at Aurora's chest and gave a small smirk.

"Gotcha," Aurora mumbled before she slipped it into her bra.

"Don't forget, you can't use your powers until after they take you down to the lab. And remember your hand-to-hand combat we've practiced. You'll do great... let's get your parents back." Hermione said to her before she gave her a kiss on the forehead and one more hug.

Aurora pulled out her wand and held it so tightly her knuckles turned white. She walked a bit ahead of the others to the side of the building and quickly laid her back against it as a guard walked by. Her heart was racing, and her mind was becoming a frantic mess. It was the feel of a raindrop on her cheek that made her look up at the stormy sky and it somehow gave her the reassurance she needed to keep going and focus.

She hugged the wall a bit until she got to the corner and peeked her head around the side to where one of the entrances were. There were two guards standing outside and then another two that kept patrolling this side of the building. She let out a frustrated growl as she knew she wouldn't get too far before they captured her, but it made her that much more determined.

She felt the rain starting to come down a bit harder and she took her chance at the sound of the rain falling to slowly run up to the two men. She whipped her wand as fast she could and sent one of the men back into the wall and then quickly dodged a spell that the other man sent her way. She went to throw another spell when she felt one hit her back and flew forward onto the ground. She quickly turned around to see one of the guards standing over her ready to bend down and grab her when she leg swiped him to the ground.

She quickly jumped to her feet and ran right at the guard that was closest to her and slammed herself and him into the wall. She hit him with a Confundus charm before he could regain himself. She grabbed the keycard off of his belt and went running towards the door when a blast from right beside her flung her hard into the concrete wall of the building. She let out a growl of pain as she got on her hands and knees and tried to pull herself up. All she could hear was a ringing in her ears as she saw multiple people approaching her. It took everything in her to not let her powers out as she felt threatened by the crowd surrounding her.

She felt someone grab her roughly by her hair and pull her up. "Don't worry Sweetie, you don't need a keycard to get inside. We'll be more than happy to escort you in ourselves." A man said as he snatched the keycard from her.

She blinked a few times as she tried to recover from the blast. She could see the others in the distance still hiding. Scorpius' hands tightly gripped on James from trying to run out and help her. The last thing she could make out were James' eyes locked on hers before she was yanked into the lab.

 **A/N: OK, so there you are, what did you think? It is indeed showtime now, lol. There will be a lot more action in the next chapter and I don't plan on making you wait as long for that one like I did with this one, lol.**

 **Would love your feedback and thoughts on this chapter. How do you think this is all going to play out?**

 **If you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link of my profile page. On there I post chapter updates and previews as well discussions pertaining to the story.**

 **Thanks guys!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I can't apologize enough for making you guys wait so long for this chapter. I've just been going through so much with my mom and then I'm always working...UGH! I do not intend to make you guys wait as long for the next one. I hope you guys enjoy. This is the longest chapter I've written so far so hopefully it delivers.**

Aurora felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as the sound of screaming in the distance filled her ears. She had an idea of how horrific this place must be, but this was just downright chilling. She would have been completely paralyzed by fear if she wasn't so angry that her parents had been locked away in such a place for so long. That thought alone gave her a bit more confidence that she could pull this off.

"How many more of you are out there?" A man asked her as he dragged her through the halls.

"It's just me." She answered as she tried to keep her voice steady.

"I don't believe that for a second." He accused, as he brought his face closer to hers. "How did you manage to get onto the island then? Only a Ministry Official can Portkey... do you still want to stick with your original answer?"

"It is just me; my aunt works for the Ministry and the original plan was that a group of us would Portkey here together... but I thought I could do it alone to try and keep everyone else safe." She said in disappointment as she hung her head.

She desperately tried to sell her performance and it wasn't hard to muster up some tears in her eyes to play the part better.

He looked her over for a moment in silence before he turned to the other guards. "I want a full sweep of the island done." He ordered before he turned back to her. "We'll see if you're telling the truth." He took a piece of her platinum blonde hair in between his fingers and looked at her. "Now what about these special powers that seem to run in the family? You got any of those yet?" he asked with a smirk.

"If I did, I would have used them already." She said through clenched teeth.

He brought a few strands of her hair up to his nose to take in her scent. "You sure there's not a little ice princess in there?" he asked with an evil grin.

Aurora's heart raced at his action, but his skepticism of her powers had her worried he would slap a neck device on her before she could make it to her parents.

"Believe me... I would have killed you with them by now." She warned with a disgusted sneer on her face.

He suddenly grabbed her shirt and pulled her close to him making Aurora let out a small whimper of fear. She felt him reach behind her and pull the knife out from her back pocket before he released his hold on her. She let out an emotional breath of relief when she realized her thoughts of what he was going to do to her were wrong. She felt him pat her down further before he took the knife in her sock as well.

"With all these weapons on you, it's easier to believe you have no powers." He said in amusement before he continued to drag her down the hall.

* * *

Harry finally threw himself down on the couch after pacing his room for the last hour. He ran his fingers through his hair before grabbing a handful of it and letting out a long breath. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut to keep any emotion from slipping out. He was trying so hard to stay hopeful, but the last two days he started to give up.

He looked over at Draco, who was just lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He tried talking to him again, but it was useless. He was worried about Draco and his mental state; he was completely broken. Every bit of him seemed shattered and lost... he hardly knew the man in the next room anymore.

"That alarm... what do you think is going on out there?" Harry asked in yet another attempt at reaching the Slytherin.

Draco sat up and looked at him before he walked over to the wall. Harry was surprised by the sudden action and met him over there.

"You know what I think, Harry?" he mumbled out before he looked up at him. "I think it means nothing... just like all the other times that fuckin thing went off." He sneered before he turned his back to him once more.

Harry had lost count at the amount of times one of the security alarms was tripped in the lab and every time he was hopeful it was a way out. He knew Draco was right though, it never was anything more than just an alarm. A constant reminder that they were trapped in this hellhole.

The door to the lab opened and a guard walked in, it was routine for people to constantly be coming in and out of the lab all day that Harry and Draco paid little to no attention to them anymore. It was only when Harry caught sight of Aurora's platinum strands that made his breath catch in his throat.

The guard threw her to the ground right outside of Draco's room where she picked her head up and saw her father across the room, his back to her. She wanted to completely breakdown right then and there, but she remembered Eve's words and she tried so hard to push her emotions aside.

"Dad?" she choked out.

The sound of Aurora's voice hitting Draco's ears made his eyes instantly well with tears. He wasn't even sure if what he heard was real or not, he had been hallucinating and he was so tired of being disappointed. He turned to face her, and everything became real again, but he couldn't move for some reason. He was so scared that if he took one step she would disappear. He moved his mouth a few times to speak but nothing came out as he tried to figure out if she was really there or not.

"Aurora?" he finally managed to force out.

She went to take a step towards the glass to meet him, but she felt the guard yank her back and force her down onto her knees. She heard the sound of her wand being snapped in half before he threw it to the floor beside her and then she saw him reach for the neck device on the table.

She looked back up at her father and anger filled her as she took in his and Harry's appearance. They looked ill and like they hadn't slept in weeks. Her father's bloodshot eyes were locked on hers as he mentally debated on whether this was all another hallucination or not. She didn't want to fail him, after everything her parents have done for them, to protect them... she owed her life to them. All those times she took them for granted and all the love and overprotective attempts they always drowned her in were things she never thought she'd miss.

"I'm not taking a chance with any of you lot, so let's just slip this on." The guard said as he took a step towards her.

She balled fists tightly as she started to feel the temperature in her body drop. The sound of crunching ice filled her ears as the floor beneath her covered with a thick layer of frost before it reached the man's feet.

"What the hell?" he said to himself as he finally realized it was Aurora.

He quickly went to jump forward to wrap the device around her neck when his legs were frozen in place. He tried to keep walking closer to her, but his body started to cover with ice, and he reached forward to try and grab Aurora. His fingertips desperately reached out to try and harm her in any way.

Aurora's eyes never left her father's, even as she felt the guard's fingers skim a few strands of her hair as he tried to grab her. She finally stood up and turned to face him, his entire body except for his face was covered in ice. Her fists were balled so tightly that her knuckles turned white, making the ice that encased the man start to crack and pierce into his body. He let out a painful scream as the ice continued to crush him.

"I told you I'd use them to kill you." She said menacingly before his face was iced over and his scream was muffled.

Aurora's tightly balled fists finally went limp and the icy form of the man crumbled to the floor. She turned back to her father, who still just had this shocked expression on his face. Whether it was because he still couldn't believe she was there in front of him or that she had powers and just used them to kill a man, either way, Aurora didn't care, she just had to get them out of there.

Another alarm went off and although she knew it would draw more guards to her, she also knew it ment the others were inside and she felt a sense of relief. She hardly made a move before the door to the lab was blasted open and more guards filled the room.

"Aurora, get the keycards and a let us out!" Harry quickly demanded before she got herself killed.

She ignored Harry's words as she narrowed her eyes and released a shaky breath before she ran full speed at the men across the room. She lifted her arms as two tall waves of ice formed and crashed down on them. She jumped over one of the metal exam tables and kicked another guard in the chest before she landed on the floor and skidded to a stop on a path of ice. She brought her hands together make two thick walls of ice crash into each other as more guards came running in and started throwing spells at her. The entire room dropped in temperature as the walls and floor covered in thick ice. Aurora made large shards rise from the floor and then break apart into sharp tiny pieces. She felt so much adrenaline running through her and her powers were raging like never before. A blast of ice filled the room shattering the glass walls that surrounded Harry and Draco, making them both take cover.

She felt a spell graze her thigh and she let out a small hiss of pain before quickly ignoring it and focusing on the guard running towards her. He kicked her hard in the chest making her fall back onto the floor. He walked towards her as Aurora made the floor cover with a thin layer of ice and watched the man fight to hold himself up before she threw a small ball of ice at him, making him hit the icy floor hard. She noticed one of the men going to grab the same neck device that the other guard tried to use on her, and she quickly pulled the last knife she had from her bra and threw it at his hand. He screamed out in pain as the blade pierced through his palm and she grabbed the device from him before crushing it with her powers and snapping it in half.

She watched him only grow angrier as he pulled the knife from his hand and swung it at her. She jumped back and quickly dodged another strike as he repeatedly swung his hand viciously around like a mad man. He caught a piece of her shirt and then grabbed her to him, but before he could do anything else, Aurora formed a large, sharp icicle in her hand and jammed it right into the side of his throat. His tight grip on her quickly loosened and she fell to the floor before scrambling backward and watched him drop dead before her.

She jumped back up to her feet and ran over to Harry and Draco. It was Harry first who snatched her up into a tight hug and looked her over to make sure she was alright.

"That was brilliant." He said to her. "A bit terrifying... but brilliant."

She flashed him a bright smile before she turned to her father. He still was silent and looked at her as if she were a ghost.

"Dad?" she called softly to him.

She wanted to hug him so badly, but she knew the emotions that would come with that and she needed to keep a level head right now. She was also a bit hesitant from the look on Draco's face. He looked both shocked and scared to see her there as he continued to stare at her.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked Harry.

Harry wasn't sure what to say.

The sound of the next shot of serum being injected from Harry and Draco's neck device made Aurora turn her attention to them. She brought one hand up to Harry's and one to Draco's and froze them until they started to crack and then finally snapped into two pieces.

"How long does that last before you can use your powers?" she asked them.

Harry just shook his head. "I don't know."

She looked at him and then to her dad again. "We need to get moving." She said as she went to lead the way.

"You shouldn't be here." Draco's voice filled the room, making her turn back to look at him as he grabbed her a little rougher than intended. "Why are you here? You need to get out of here now. Do you know what they'll do to you?"

"Dad, it's ok." She tried to calm him down and the way his voice cracked made her want to cry.

"No, it's not, please leave... please get out of here." He begged her.

"DAD!" she yelled out as she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a hard shake. "We need to go... now." She said locking eyes with him.

He wasn't sure if this was real or not but seeing and hearing his daughter meant everything to him and even if this was all a dream or another hallucination, he decided to go along with it. He finally nodded slowly at her words before he felt her grab his wrist and drag him behind her.

"Whoa, Aurora, wait, you can't just go marching out there without a plan. Who else is here with you?" Harry asked.

She stopped and looked at him. "Everyone." She said before she opened the door to the hall and poked her head out.

Harry exchanged a quick look with Draco. "Wait, I'm confused, I thought you were captured? Who else is here?"

She turned and looked at them both with a bit of annoyance at all the questions. "Look, we are on a tight schedule." She said as she looked at the small watch she had on her wrist. "Everything is precisely planned and every question you keep asking is throwing us off track. So shut up and follow me." She snapped.

She quickly led the way out into the hall, her hands covered with a light frost as she went into full defense mode.

"Aurora, wait, hold on," Harry called to her to try and get her attention as she continued to keep moving through the halls. "Aurora, please!" Harry finally yelled as he grabbed her arm to stop her. "Just tell me... James... is he alive?" he asked, tears in his eyes as he locked eyes with her.

The lights suddenly went out and they were all standing there in complete darkness.

Aurora smirked to herself. "Yeah, he's alive." She said as the lights started to flicker a bit.

Guards started to fill the hall and block their path to the elevator and stairs. They all had their wands drawn on them and shot a disabling charm at Aurora before she could make a move.

"GET DOWN! DON'T MOVE!" one of the men roared down the hall.

Harry and Draco stopped right away, their minds going back to the day Crystal was shot point-blank right in front of them for trying to help them escape. Aurora slowly took a step towards them with her hands up to show she was unarmed.

"Aurora, it's over, stop before they kill you," Harry whispered to her as she took another step towards them.

"I MEAN IT, GET DOWN!" the man bellowed.

The lights kept going in and out every few seconds as the guards neared Aurora. She slowly got to her knees and continued to hold her hands up as she kept her eyes on the flickering lights. She was quietly counting under her breath as she thought back to the plan they set in motion. When the lights finally went out once more and didn't come back on right away, she knew James was close by.

She could hear the guards starting to approach her and that's when she felt it. She could feel every piece of hair on her body start to stand up and a metallic taste filled her mouth. When she watched her platinum, blonde strands start to lift in front of her face she looked past the crowd of men before her and saw the figure of a person down the hall who she knew to be James. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched a wave of electricity stream down the hallway, bringing every guard to their knees as it struck each one of them. She didn't even flinch as she saw it coming right at her, she trusted him and knew he would never hurt her. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she felt it miss her cheek by a few inches and run through her hair so fast it made it whip wildly around her face.

She jumped to her feet and ran towards him as more guards entered the hallway.

"James!" she called out to him for some help from the disabling charm she was under.

Flashes of electricity filled the dimly lit hall and Aurora ran right into one of them and felt it throw her backward harder than she anticipated.

"Aurora!" Draco called out to her as he seemed to somehow finally snap out of his delusional state.

Before he could run to her side she was up again and running back at the guards, bursts of ice filled the hall every time her feet hit the floor. She slid on her knees past two of them and spun around freezing each one of them in place. She skidded to a halt right before James as he watched his powers blast apart each one of the frozen men.

Harry and Draco were forced to take cover behind one of the corners of the hallway so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. The entire scene was so chaotic they could hardly keep their heads up long enough before debris came flying towards them. Harry finally grabbed Draco by the shirt and dragged him down the hall towards James and Aurora and made sure to keep up with them.

They all turned another corner to go towards the elevator, but it was blocked by more guards, so they quickly ran through to the side door and went to take the stairs.

"Go!" Aurora demanded from them as she and James held the rest of the guards off.

Harry paused for a moment as he quickly locked eyes with James for a slight moment before chaos broke out once more. He and Draco started taking the stairs two at a time as soon as they knew Aurora and James were close behind them. There were spells being thrown from the stairs above them as they attempted to make their way up them. Harry turned his attention to James as he saw a flicker of lightning out of the corner of his eyes and then he was gone. He just watched as this electrical current he knew to be his son jumped from each light in the stairwell and watched them pop until it they were all standing in the pitch black.

The silence that suddenly filled the stairwell was unnerving as the only sound that could be heard was their heavy breathing. A loud buzzing sound filled the silence and then a zap of electricity hit the four guards that were waiting at the top of the stairs for them that they were all unaware of. It took a second before the door to the next floor opened and James' silhouette could be seen in the doorway.

"Let's go!" he called down to them as Aurora was leading the way once more.

They were barely through the door of the next floor when spells were being shot at them again. Aurora felt a disabling charm hit her again, this time much harder than the last one as she fell against the wall and dropped to her knees. James saw another disabling charm coming right for him, but before it could hit him he turned to his father and hit him with a bolt of lightning in hopes it would help his powers surface.

The electrical shock hit Harry so hard he fell backward into Draco and they fell to the floor. Harry flinched as a painful tingling sensation covered his body. He felt Draco pull him up to his feet before he quickly pulled his hands back from Harry when his powers started to surface.

Harry exchanged a quick look with Draco as his powers came back and he stood up on shaky legs. He could feel the electricity coursing through his body as a familiar feeling filled him. It seemed like years since he had last felt his powers and it was a feeling he didn't realize how much he had missed. He watched as more of Adwell's men filled the hall, it was as if they would never stop coming. This time some of them were armed with more than just wands but weapons as well. Both curses and bullets came flying at them and hit this magnetic shield that Harry formed in front of them all. He then pushed it back towards the guards where every spell and bullet that they threw flew back at them and took half of them down.

They all started running down the hall to get to the next elevator or staircase to keep moving up but kept getting ambushed my more of Adwell's men. Harry's powers filled the hallway making the rest of them duck down as abstract bolts of electricity bounced off the walls.

Draco felt something cold under his hand as he leaned against the wall and saw it was ice. He glanced at Aurora, who looked back at him thinking it was either of their powers, but she was still fighting off the disabling charm and Draco's powers hadn't surfaced yet. Aurora focused her attention to the end of the hallway where there were guards ready to open fire on them. Just as one of Harry's bolts of lightning made its way down the hall, from out of nowhere Scorpius grabbed it and turned it to ice. He swung it like a sword as he let it pierce through one of the men that had a gun and then ran towards the other guards before thrusting it into one of them until they were pinned against the wall. He quickly pulled it from the man and threw it like a spear at another two guards coming at him and watched it impale them both.

He quickly ran over to the others when the hall seemed all clear.

"Are you ok?" Aurora asked him as she met him halfway down the hall.

"Not really, I got blood all over my damn shirt." He sighed in frustration as he looked himself over.

Aurora just rolled her eyes before turning back to her father, who looked even more shocked to see Scorpius than when he saw her.

"You're alive?" Draco choked out as he stared at him in disbelief.

It was more than once he was told his children were dead and any hope he had of them still being alive was gone. He had seen his sons blood covering the body of one of Adwell's men who claimed to have killed him, so to see him standing before him very much alive was the last thing he expected.

Scorpius exchanged a sad look with Aurora before he grabbed his father into a hug. He could feel from the way he hardly hugged him back that he was stuck in a state of shock. Scorpius pulled back to look at him, it killed him to see his father like this. He was always used to seeing him so put together and composed, so to see him in such a state killed him inside.

"We have to keep moving," James stated before they started making their way into the elevator.

"Dad, do you know where Mum and Riley are?" Aurora asked.

He just shook his head. "I haven't seen your mother in..." he trailed off. "And Riley escaped with Noah and-"

"Eve." Scorpius finished.

Harry and Draco just looked at him.

"Yeah, she's with us."

"Eve is here with you?" Harry asked.

"How else do you think we planned to break into this place?" Scorpius smirked.

"Dad, Riley didn't escape, she's still here. They cloned her and sent her off with Eve and Noah to get to us. She's still here somewhere." Aurora explained.

Draco just nodded as he took in the information, he desperately tried to hold himself together. He was terrified that he was going to wake up at any moment and they would all be gone.

"You were amazing," Harry said to James before finally grabbing him into a hug.

Once again any chance of a reunion between them was cut short as the elevator came to a stop.

"Dad? A little help?" James nodded to himself and Aurora as they were still under the effects of the disabling charm.

Harry just stared at James for a moment before he quickly nodded and held out his hand. Long thin streams of electricity released from his fingertips and sporadically danced around each of them before it hit them and gave them all a small jolt.

"That was a lot more graceful and gentle than when you do it," Aurora mumbled to James, who smirked at her.

Draco felt the small jolt run through his body, but he felt nothing surface. He wasn't sure why nothing was happening, all he felt right now was a mixture of shock and uncertainty. The sound of guns going off made him turn his attention to his children, who were already in defense mode. Bullets were starting to pierce the icy barrier that they had formed as James and Harry took down the men they were able to get to without being shot down.

Soon all shots being fired came to a stop and the attention turned from them to someone else. One of the men went to open fire when he turned to the guard beside him and shot him down instead before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Soon almost every guard in that hall was fighting each other.

Scorpius and Aurora's icy barrier finally faded before they saw Ellie and Eve on the opposite end of the hallway. Scorpius could see the glimmer of purple in Eve's eyes from where he stood as she started walking towards them. More of Adwell's men just kept coming from out of nowhere, many of them armed with Muggle weapons as they turned to Ellie and Eve.

It was Ellie who started to run at the men full speed as at least eight men started shooting at her. Every bullet that was about her to hit her ended up flying straight through her as her entire body turned to water before it crashed to the ground. The form of Ellie reformed behind one of the men and as he turned to her she held out both of her hands and released fire from one and ice from the forming blazing hot steam to burn his face. She felt something sharp graze her upper arm and quickly turned to water once more to avoid a few spells that came flying at her.

She caught sight of her father for a split second and lost her focus as she felt a spell hit her and slammed into the wall. She turned to see the man approaching her when Eve jumped in front of her and blocked the mans pulled back fist as he swung it at her. She kicked him backward and then another man went to take a shot at her when she used her powers to disarm him and grabbed the gun. She didn't hesitate to shoot him point-blank before quickly turning and shooting the other man that was behind her. She ran towards the others as she locked eyes with Scorpius for a moment and pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

Scorpius flinched as the bullet hit a man that was right behind him ready to attack.

"Fuck woman, that could have hit me." He growled.

"If you keep sounding ungrateful I'll make sure the next one does." She playfully warned before turning to Harry and Draco.

She quickly walked up to them, she didn't realize how overwhelming it was for her to see them again... here in the lab that she had been trapped in for so long.

"Eve." Draco softly spoke as he locked eyes with her. "You came back?"

She wasn't even sure what to say to him or Harry. She felt so responsible for all the heartache and pain they were all going through. They piled into the elevator again and it grew silent as it continued to make its way up to the next floor. Draco took notice of the floor it was and panic set in.

"This is the floor... the non-magical one." He breathed out.

This was the floor that they never could seem to get past and it was here that he knew their plan to escape was about to fail. Everything he was fearing was about to happen and if this really was all real and not him hallucinating or some fucked up dream then he couldn't let it happen.

"Stop." He said. "We can't get out here... they'll kill you guys." He said in a panic.

"It's ok, we have a plan Dad." Aurora tried to explain.

He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her. "No, you don't understand, you can't use your powers... and hardly any magic. You won't get past his men, I can't-I won't chance any of you getting hurt." He rambled on.

"Draco, it's ok, when these doors open I need you to just follow Aurora and-"

"No, you're not listening." He cut Eve off. "We are as good as dead if we attempt to-"

"DAD!" Aurora yelled out before roughly grabbing his face in her hands and had him face her. She fiercely locked eyes with him and she held him firmly there in front of her. "WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE! WE ARE ALL GETTING OUT OF HERE! NOW FUCKIN SNAP OUT OF IT!" she shouted angrily at him. "This is real, we are real... now do exactly as I say. Once these doors open you and Harry need to run, just keep running and don't look back."

He started to shake his head no at her command before she firmly held his face still again and had him look at her.

"Yes!" she said loudly as she dismissed anymore of his attempts to fight her on it.

He just stared at her; his eyes welled with tears before he looked at Harry who gave him a small nod of agreement at Aurora's words. When he looked back at Aurora, it was like he was seeing her for the first time.

The sound of the elevator coming to a stop and a hard bang against the doors made them all jump. The sound of gunshots, yelling and the occasional scream could be heard outside of the elevator. The doors barely opened as debris and bullets hit the wall behind them. One of the bullets ricocheted and hit Harry in the shoulder in his attempt to shield James from any harm.

He let out a loud growl of pain before seeing the look of worry cover his son's face. "It's ok, I'm fine." He breathed out heavily as he fought the urge to scream out in pain. "It's not as bad... as it looks." He tried to reassure them.

Draco still had his arms protectively clutched around Aurora and Ellie and took notice of the way Scorpius shielded Eve. He turned his attention back to the chaos and looked out into the hallway. He was shocked to see Blaise, Ron, and Luna all fighting against Adwell's men. All of them here fighting for him, Harry and Ginny to be free of this place... it was suddenly becoming quite real to him. If he had any more doubt of this all being real or not, it was when he saw Hermione that made him truly believe he had a chance of getting out of here and that this was indeed very real. He met her gaze from down the hall and everything almost seemed to turn to slow motion.

It was Hermione who kept Ginny safe all those years ago when she was pregnant with the twins. It was Hermione who helped him realize his feelings for Ginny so long ago... it was Hermione who told him she would do everything she could to get them back home to their kids. It was Hermione who reassured him and Ginny she would make sure the kids were ok and now here she was. He wasn't sure why, but just seeing her here gave him everything he needed to bring him back to reality.

He felt Aurora yank him by the wrist as she started running through the chaotic brawl that took place around them. Aurora felt her father pull her back towards him as a knife flew past her face and hit the wall beside them. Draco went to go attack the man, but he felt Aurora grab him once more and kept running as fast as she could down the hall. He had his other hand tightly wrapped around Ellie's arm as he dragged her behind him; his grip tighter than it should be in fear of her somehow leaving him in some way.

Harry wasn't too far behind Draco as he felt James and Scorpius keep pushing him to keep going and not stop. At one point though, he completely stopped as he caught sight of Luna and it didn't matter how much James and Scorpius urged him to keep running, there was no way he could ignore that she was so close.

As if sensing his eyes on her she finished taking down one of Adwell's men with the help of Blaise and ran to him. She was so overwhelmed with emotion she could barely keep her pace as her body trembled. Harry roughly pushed James and Scorpius back so he could meet her halfway.

"Harry!" Luna yelled out through her sobs before she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him tightly to her.

Harry ignored the pain in his shoulder as she latched on to him. He buried his face into her blonde hair and just took in everything. Her scent, the feel of her arms around him... everything that reminded him why he loved her so much. Neither of them could even speak they were to overcome with emotion. James felt Scorpius give him a hard pat on the back as he watched his parents reunite before he ran to catch up with the others.

The chaos had finally come to a stop for a moment to give them a chance to regroup. Hermione smiled at Harry and Luna's reunion before she turned to Draco. She didn't hesitate to run up to him and throw her arms around him tightly.

"I'm so happy you guys are alright." She cried as she hugged him tighter.

He finally hugged her back after a moment before he let out this emotional breath he seemed to have been holding in this whole time. "I can't believe you're here." He choked out.

She pulled back at his words and looked at him in disbelief. "Of course I am, I told you I would get you out of here." She reassured him as she took a step back and looked at Aurora. "You did amazing."

Aurora just smiled and bowed her head at the compliment before locking eyes with her father.

He had this fixed gaze on her before he nodded in agreement and grabbed her into a hug. This time she could feel every emotion that was running through him just by the way he latched onto her. He grabbed Ellie to him also and he couldn't believe the amount of happiness that filled him just by holding them. He wanted to breakdown right here in front of them, but he still couldn't help the hesitation that filled him that was forcing him to keep his guard up when it came to his emotions.

Eve just watched from the sidelines, her heart aching as she wished she was able to feel the love and embrace of a parent. She felt her eyes well a bit with tears before she felt Scorpius glance her way.

She quickly cleared her throat and took a deep breath before she made her way up the next set of stairs. "We have to keep moving. The next two floors are highly guarded, and we have to stick to our scheduled plan." She insisted as she led the way.

* * *

Ember, Noah, and Raven quickly followed Jake through the halls of the lab in search of Riley. All Ember could think about was whether Riley was alive or if she had been experimented on like their mother and made into some sort of monster. The mere thought angered her and would bring tears to her eyes but she tried her hardest to push any emotion aside as she continued to search.

"Jake, slow down!" Ember called to him as she ran a bit to catch up. She grabbed him by the arm to stop him from taking off again down a side hall. "Hey, hold up." She said as she looked at him. "You can't just go running ahead like that, this whole place is highly guarded. Let's stick to the plan."

"I am sticking to the plan. We need to get to Riley, don't we? Isn't this the floor where they were keeping her?" he asked as he continued to walk ahead but not as fast as before.

"Yes, but she could have been moved. If I can just get to one of the computers in here then I can find her file and see where she's being kept." Noah insisted.

"Alright, then let's do that." Raven agreed as her, Noah and Ember went to walk in the opposite direction.

"Jake?" Ember called again. "Come on."

He stopped and looked at her and then at Noah and Raven.

"Go on, we'll catch up," Ember said to them before she walked back over to Jake. "What's wrong?" she softly asked as she took his hand.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I know Noah and Eve helped us break in here, but I just can't help but feel like they could be leading us into a trap. I think we should continue going my way to avoid the possibility of Noah leading us to some room he can lock us up in."

Ember just looked at him for a moment before considering her next choice of words. "I think we can trust them."

He furrowed his brows at her comment. "You trust Noah?"

"I don't mean like that; I just mean with this situation." She corrected herself.

"You do realize he was using you? That he would have turned you over to his father himself if he had the chance and it would be you in Riley's place or even your mother-"

"Alright, enough!" she shouted angrily. "Where is all of this coming from suddenly? Why didn't you voice any of this when we were planning?"

"Are you kidding me? You're desperate to get your parents back... do you think anything I would have said would have really impacted your decision to come here?"

They both grew quiet.

"You guys coming? We have to go!" Noah called from down the hall.

Jake locked eyes with Ember before he waved his hand for her to go first. "After you."

Ember couldn't pinpoint it, but something seemed off with Jake. Of course, she didn't trust Noah as a person, but she did trust that his intentions were good when it came to helping them free her parents. She finally broke her gaze with Jake and followed Noah and Raven down the hall.

They made their way into one of the rooms that resembled the lab that Draco, Harry, and Ginny had been kept in only smaller and it had only one room. There were pictures of victims that had been kept there and experimented on up on the wall that Ember walked over to while Noah went straight to the computer to look up Riley's file.

She reached up and took down a picture of a little girl who she was sure was Eve. She taped it back up before she took down another one beside it of a woman who she assumed was Noah and Eve's mother. Her stomach turned a bit as she saw some before and after pictures of her after the experiments that had been done.

"She's on the floor below us where we're supposed to be in less than ten minutes," Noah said as he scrolled through her file. "Let me see what room she's in and if there are any codes we need to get in."

Ember nodded before she turned back to the wall of pictures. Her eyes falling on a familiar face as she reached forward to see a picture of Noah. She could hardly stand to look at the picture of him where he was hooked up to numerous wires and devices. The side of his head cracked open and ready for his father to mutilate.

She felt Noah snatch the picture from her and rip it in half. "I found her room, let's go." He demanded; a bit harsher than he intended but Ember knew it was due to the picture she was holding in her hand.

She gave the wall of pictures one last glance before turning to follow him when she paused and slowly turned back to it. She felt a lump form in her throat when her eyes fell on another familiar face. She reached forward and held it in her hand and brought it close to her to make sure she was seeing it clearly.

"N-Noah?" she called over to him.

"What?" he snapped before walking back over to her and looking at the picture she was holding.

He grabbed it from her as he too was in disbelief at what he was seeing. It was when Raven made her way over and looked over their shoulders to see what they were looking at that confirmed it.

"Is that Jake?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes to get a better look.

The three of them turned around to see him standing there with his wand tightly gripped and a neck device in his other hand. Ember was frozen, she couldn't react to the information she had just taken in and she couldn't even begin to understand what it could possibly mean.

"What the fuck Jake? What the hell is going on?" Noah snarled.

Jake flicked his wand so quickly and hit Raven with a spell that threw her back against the wall and knocked her out. He walked towards Noah and Ember; each step he took his body covered in metal as Noah continuously threw spells at him. Jake caught one of the spells in his hand and threw it right back, making Noah crash into one of the metal cabinets in the room.

He just took a small step towards Ember as he returned to his normal form. She didn't even flinch when he grabbed her around the throat and pinned her against the wall. His hand covering in metal as he squeezed tighter.

"Sorry Ember, but it's just unfinished business. See, Adwell approached me one day as I was staying at some Ex-Death Eater hideout and offered me something that nobody else could... vengeance. I knew very well who my father was and who had killed him and so Adwell promised I'd get to avenge him in some way by helping him collect you and your family. Having no family and no purpose in life made the offer hard to pass up, but it wasn't until he gave me a little more background on your family when the decision and the driving force behind my vengeance became clear."

His eyes turned a shade darker as he continued.

"My mother... the only family I had was taken from me about eighteen years ago. She was killed by your mother when one day her powers became too much and blew up half of the town. Do you know what it's like to have memories of your parents told to you by a Death Eater? To be raised by someone who doesn't even want you around. I was maybe two or three and I lost both of my parents because your mother killed them."

"It... was an a-accident." Ember choked out through the grip he had on her and her trembling body.

"Don't give me that shit! I don't care what it was... she was still taken from me!" He yelled in anger as he squeezed her throat a little tighter and heard her whimper. He looked at her for a moment before a small smirk finally crossed his lips. "I never thought you'd get so attached to me though." He said the last part in amusement. "Adwell knew how much you wanted to grow your powers and tried to get Noah to turn you over to him. Obviously, that didn't go as planned because as bad as that piece of scum treated you, he started growing soft and developed feelings for you. It was when he asked his father to turn his attention to your parents instead of you that Adwell knew Noah wouldn't go through with their original plan. So, I had an opportunity to revenge both of my parents and I knew with the help of Adwell's experiments I could have a chance of succeeding."

Ember glanced over to Noah, who was trying to pick himself up from the floor before her tear-filled eyes fell on Jake once more.

"The rest was all a set-up... me working at the café and catching your attention. We never saw each at Hogwarts because I never went. That clone of Riley was never the spy, though she was created to serve Adwell, the whole time it was me and it was just a happy accident that Matthew helped the wrong Riley escape with Eve and Noah."

"I-I thought you l-loved m-me." She choked out through his grip as her tears spilled down her face.

He tightened his grip even more and pulled her face inches from his. "The only thing I loved was manipulating you and making you so vulnerable to me that I was able to make you earn my trust."

He watched her eyes turn orange and then to a deep black as his grip around her turned hot. He smirked at her before he threw her against the glass room that was in the lab. She heard a loud snap behind her as the glass started to crack before she set herself ablaze. Before she could even make a move, Jake threw the neck device at her that instantly diminished every flame that surrounded her. He punched her hard with a fist a metal and watched her fall to the floor. All she could hear was a loud ringing in her ears as her vision grew blurry. She could feel blood dripping down her face and from her mouth as she tried to sit up.

She watched him approach her once more before something hard hit him and threw him across the room. The loud howl of a werewolf filled her ears and she looked up to see a pair of yellow eyes above her. She was surrounded by the large form of a werewolf as Noah protectively stood over her injured body. He viciously growled at Jake as metal covered him once more and they went head to head.

Ember managed to pull herself up and watched the two fight as she made her way over to see if Raven was alright. A loud whimper from Noah rang out and Ember snapped her head over to see Jake knock him out with one hard punch. He went to deliver a skull-crushing punch when Ember quickly threw every spell she could think of; every one of them just bouncing off of him. He ran at her and grabbed her by the throat once more, this time lifting her off the floor completely.

"Adwell is aware you're all here, so it looks like your plan has slightly changed because you won't be making it out of here. Just hang tight so I can go play the part for the rest of your family." He said with an evil grin before flinging her across the room once more, this time her body breaking through the glass room and hitting the wall behind her as she fell limp to the floor.

* * *

Eve flinched as a loud blast hit the wall right above her head. She peeked around the corner and quickly tucked back behind it as another wave of spells came at her.

"They should be here by now," Hermione stated as she quickly went over the plan in her head again to make sure she wasn't missing anything.

"They will be," Luna reassured her.

They had been cornered at one end of a hallway and half of them were under a disabling charm. Two of them being Harry and James so there was no way for them to give anyone a boost.

"We are as good as dead if we don't make a move soon," Blaise argued as he turned his attention to the door to the stairwell next to him where more of Adwell's men were trying to break through.

"I don't understand, why hasn't my father shown his face yet?" Eve asked more to herself than anyone else.

"Because he's probably waiting for us somewhere else," Scorpius said as he threw another spell around the corner.

All chaos stopped for a moment when a bone-chilling howl could be heard throughout the lab.

"Noah?" Eve said softly to herself.

Draco leaned over to Scorpius. "Did she just say Noah?"

"Oh yeah, Noah's a werewolf now." He casually answered.

"What the fuck happened since I've been in here?"

Scorpius leaned back over to his father. "Don't worry, Aurora's still a virgin." He laughed as Aurora leaned over and punched him in the arm.

Scorpius just rubbed his arm before looking down at the watch he was wearing, and his heart sank a bit. "Where are you Ember?" he whispered to himself.

* * *

The buzzing sound of a flickering light and his name being called made Noah finally open his eyes. He saw Raven leaning over him and a relieved look covered her face when she realized he was alive. He sat up and looked up at the hanging light fixture that was slowly swinging back and forth before his eyes fell on Ember across the room. He quickly scrambled to his feet before he ran to her side.

As he approached her, he slowed down his pace and just stared at her. She just sat there limp as ever, her head slumped but her eyes fixated on the shard of glass stuck in her thigh. He crouched down beside her, trying to get a look at her face to assess her current mental state. He didn't think he could feel any lower than he already did but seeing Ember like this made it possible and he hated himself for it.

"Ember?" he softly called to her.

He wasn't surprised when she didn't respond. He brought his wand up to the neck device she wore and unlocked it before slowly reaching up to remove it. As he leaned in he took notice of her breathing. He looked her over once more and saw a large amount of blood on the other side of her shirt. He moved her long fiery strands aside to see a large piece of glass had pierced the side of her stomach.

He quickly stood back up and ran his hands through his hair as he looked at her condition. He then turned to Raven and pointed to Ember.

"You're a healer, help her." He demanded.

"I'm an intern, I'm not a healer yet. I've only just done train-"

"I DON'T GIVE FUCK WHAT YOU'VE DONE JUST HELP HER!" he bellowed with rage.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him in anger before she looked at the redhead before her. "I'll do what I can." She said stiffly before looking back at him. "But I can't promise anything." She mumbled.

Raven pulled her wand out and knelt beside Ember before lifting her shirt a bit to get a better look. "I can't do this." She quickly shook her head at the seriousness of her injury.

"Grow a damn set Zabini." he snapped.

Raven gave him a hard stare for a moment before turning her attention to the glass shard. Before she could even attempt to examine it, Ember roughly pushed her hand away from her.

"No." she choked out. "Just let me die here." She quietly said as she hung her head again.

"That's not an option," Noah argued; his stomach twisting at her words.

The silence that filled the room was unsettling, nobody spoke, nobody moved. Noah could only look at Ember and the position she was in. He couldn't help but think how every decision he made in his life had brought him to this point right here. He was just some rich, spoiled kid who believed in everything his father told him. He believed his father's work was beneficial to both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, but it was everything else but that. He hated himself that he was somewhat a part of this deceitful plan to hurt so many people.

As he continued to look at the pain on Ember's face and the devastation in her eyes, he finally realized something. He was already a monster long before his father turned him into one. He used to think how could his father do something like this to him, what did he do to deserve this? Now he could see why... now he finally understood why he met this fate... it was because he really did deserve it.

When he heard Jake telling Ember the reasons behind why his father turned to Jake instead of him, he couldn't entirely disagree. It wasn't like his and Ember's relationship was always a scheme, they did actually meet at Hogwarts and became close friends and his feelings for her were genuine. It wasn't until he learned of Ember's powers and how he had this need to please his father that he turned the information over to him. That was when everything changed, that was when his relationship with Ember became nothing more than some devious plot.

He tried to put any feelings for her aside when it came to his father's plan, but it was harder than he thought. He definitely had succeeded at making her hate him, but even pretending to use her as a tool was the hardest thing he had to do. Seeing the look of hurt on her face at the terrible things he said and did to her was unbearable. His intimate encounter with Raven was also just another attempt to put anything he felt towards Ember behind him. He knew if she had ever found out she would never forgive him and her hate towards him would be sealed... and it was.

"I'm sorry Ember." He said suddenly. "I'm sorry about Jake and... I'm sorry about..." he trailed off.

Ember looked at him, her tear-filled eyes narrowed at his apology as she grew angry.

"You need to get up and get back on track, we have to stick to the plan. You're not dying here." Noah stated. "Who gives a fuck about Jake, fuck that guy, he's an asshole." He angrily went on as he turned Ember's face back towards him as she attempted to turn away. "It's not about Jake and what he did to you... it's not about what I did to you. I'm just some piece of shit who made some fucked up choices. Right now, it's just about getting your family out of here alive and getting everyone back home safe."

The coldness in her eyes warmed up a bit as her hard stare softened a bit. Her breathing became heavier as she thought about his words. She had to push her feelings aside right now and focus, she couldn't even begin to take in the betrayal that just unfolded. The sound of Noah ripping a part of his already stretched out and torn shirt made her focus her attention to her injuries.

She grabbed the piece of shard in her thigh and held her breath before she slowly pulled it out. She let out a small whimper and laid her head back against the wall as she released a long breath. She watched Noah tie the fabric he had ripped around her thigh tightly before he nodded to Raven to go ahead with the larger piece of glass in her side. She had barely touched it when Ember let out a loud growl, her whole body tensing up.

"This isn't going to be pleasant," Raven warned her as she took a firm whole of the glass and started to gently pull it out.

The painful scream that Ember released made Noah grab her hand. He didn't expect her to tightly grip his hand in return as the pain became unbearable.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried out. "I can't... I can't handle it." She cried as she hung her head again.

She felt Noah gently grab her shoulders. "You can and you will. There's no other option... you can't give up." He whispered the last part to her.

He watched her pick her head up to look at him again, her eyes were filled with uncertainty.

Raven waited a moment before she grabbed the shard one more time and slowly pulled it out the rest of the way. Ember let out this heartbreaking scream as her body shook with pain. She was practically draped over Noah's arms at this point, her head resting against his chest as she shook. When she knew it was completely out, she pulled back a bit and looked at Noah; her brow full of sweat and her face red from the pain she had just gone through. She quickly pulled back from her close encounter with him and leaned her head against the wall to regain her breath.

Raven performed what spells she knew to try and slow down the bleeding and a mild pain-relieving charm until they could get her some proper help.

"Come on, let's try to get you up," Raven said as she put one of Ember's arms over her shoulders.

Noah grabbed the other side and helped her stand. She swayed there for a moment before leaning against the wall; blood dripping down her side as she tried to apply pressure. The tips of her copper strands were covered in blood as it laid against her wounded body. He quickly walked over to one of the busted cabinets and started digging through one of the drawers for something.

He made his way back over to her with a syringe in hand. "This will give your powers a boost." He said as he ripped the cap off with his teeth and gently grabbed her upper arm. He locked eyes with her again. "Let's get to your family and get the fuck out of here," he said before he stuck the needle in her arm.

The reaction was instant as adrenaline filled Ember's body from head to toe. She felt the warmth fill her veins as her powers surfaced and a bright orange-color glimmered in her eyes. All pain she felt was put aside as she let the flames engulf her body and she burst from the room and through the halls as this blazing ball of flames.

* * *

Scorpius looked at his watch again, his heart was racing as his mind went over the plan again in his head to make sure he had the times right.

"Are you sure they were supposed to be here already?" Draco asked him.

Scorpius silently nodded, afraid to speak as fear filled his body.

"They will be here," Aurora reassured them. "They probably just got caught up in something, who knows what kind of things Adwell has in this place."

"Ok, let's go," Hermione called from around the corner as they all quickly followed her down the long hall.

Just as they thought they had an opening to get up to the next level, they ran into more of Adwell's men. They went to quickly run back the other way when more of them made their way through the other door and had them surrounded on both sides.

"It's over! Give up now or die!" One of the men yelled out, his wand gripped firmly and pointed at them along with every other guard.

The eruption of flames that burst through the door down the hall and glided along the walls and floors made Scorpius breathe a sigh of relief. Every man Ember flew past was engulfed in flames and as she zoomed over his head he could feel something wasn't right. He watched her fiery flames take out the rest of Adwell's men and cleared the way for them to get to the next floor. They were halfway up the next flight of stairs when they met Noah and Raven on the way up.

"You guys ok?" Hermione asked them.

They exchanged a quick look before nodding.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Scorpius demanded as he grabbed Noah by the shirt with clenched fists.

Noah just stared at him for a moment. "It's Jake... he was the fuckin spy. He's working for my father." He said the last part in almost a whisper.

Scorpius' grip on Noah loosened, a look of shock covering his face as he locked eyes with Noah. They both could tell their minds went straight to Ember and the devastation she must be filled with. Scorpius moved his mouth a few times, but nothing would come out.

Silence filled the stairwell at the news about Jake. It was not just the ultimate betrayal to Ember but to all of them as well. They grew close to Jake and he played them this whole time.

"What about Riley? It showed she was supposed to be on this floor?" asked Raven. Her voice cutting through the silence.

"We looked; every room is empty," Eve reassured her. "We have to keep moving." She said leading the way.

"Come on," Draco said to Scorpius as he lighted patted his shoulder. "Stay focused, right?" he said to him.

Scorpius looked at him for a moment before he finally nodded and followed the rest of them up the stairs.

"We only have a few more floors and then Kingsley and Matthew are supposed to be waiting for us to Portkey off the island," Eve stated as they followed Ember's fiery trail up to the next few floors.

They had finally reached the top floor where everything was quiet; an eerie feeling filled the air around them. They looked out into the wide-open room and looked for any trace of Adwell's men or any of his experiments. Ember's fiery form finally came to a stop as she hit the ground hard and slid across the tiled floor.

She pushed herself as hard as she could, she didn't want to give up, but her body was failing her. She picked herself up on shaky legs as she grabbed her side where she could feel the blood soaking through her clothes. She could hardly see through the blood that spilled from her head and into her eye. She barely took a step forward before she felt herself falling. All she felt was a pair of arms catch her and the feel of them was so familiar. It was a feeling she missed more than anything in the world and when her vision came back into focus for a moment she knew why.

"D-Dad?" she choked out in barely a whisper before she latched onto him.

Draco grabbed her to him, he could feel her body trembling in his arms.

She completely fell apart in his embrace, all the pressure she felt to keep her siblings safe suddenly faded. She couldn't explain it, but she felt safe now even though she knew she was near death and they weren't even free of this place yet.

"Please don't let me go... please don't leave me." She cried as she buried her face in his chest.

"I won't, I got you... I'm here now." He choked out as his emotions surfaced. "You're ok now." He pulled back a bit to look at her pale bruised face. His hands and clothes already stained with the blood of his child. "Don't you leave me though, ok? You're going to be fine."

She gave a small nod as her lips trembled; any color left in them faded. "I-I'm tired... I'm so tired." She whispered as her rapid breathing started to slow down. "I... I'm just... just going to cl-close my eyes for a... bit." She said in small short breaths.

Draco gave her a hard shake, the tears in his eyes finally spilling down his face as he feared he'd lose her. He pulled her limp body closer to him. "You promise me you'll wake up." He demanded from her as he looked down at her half-opened eyes, one of his tears hitting her face.

She looked up at him and gave the slightest of nods. "I... pr... prom-"

Draco just stared down at her, a look of horror on his face. He felt for her pulse and it was faint, so faint he wasn't even sure if he really felt one or if his mind was messing with him again.

"You'll be happy she's dead when I get through with you all." Came a voice from across the room.

Draco looked up towards the voice. The first thing his eyes took in was the doors to outside and then they fell on Adwell. A coldness filled his veins at the sight of him and the anger and emotion he felt had the floor beneath him iced over in seconds.

Draco just turned to everyone behind him, a sneer like none other etched on his face. "Let's kill this fucker already."

 **A/N: I know, I know, I know there was a shocker in there. Please don't be mad! The idea for Jake was planted from the beginning but I did go back and forth on it for a while, especially when the two characters connected so well, but I guess it just made for a better betrayal in the end. I'm dying to hear what you guys think about this chapter so please review!**

 **If you haven't already joined my Facebook group where I post chapter updates and discussions on the story, you can find the link on my profile page. Thanks so much for reading. 3**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: First let me just start with apologizing for how long it took to post this new chapter. I don't have any intentions of it taking this long for the next. There has just been so much going on with my home/work life. I really hope you guys enjoy this one.**

Draco's fists were tightly clenched and covered in ice as he stared Adwell down from across the room. "Where's Ginny and Riley?"

Adwell just smirked before he waved his hand to someone and after a moment Jake walked out with Riley, his hand tightly gripped around her upper arm. Everybody's powers seemed to surface at the sight of Jake as the betrayal to them all was devastating.

Draco held his arm out to stop Scorpius as he went to take a step towards him as his eyes narrowed with rage at what he did to Ember.

"Dad!" Riley yelled out as she attempted to run to him, but Jake's firm hold on her kept her put.

She looked a wreck and it broke Draco's heart to see her in such a state. He didn't think he could grow any angrier, but he did.

"And Ginny," Draco demanded.

Adwell's smirk only grew wider at his request. "As you wish." He said as he watched Jade drag Ginny out.

Ginny's eyes fell on Jake and his grip on Riley before she looked him up and down and a look of disgust covered her face. "I knew nothing good could ever come from a man like Peter Warren." She spat as she took in his betrayal.

"Mum?" Ellie called from across the room.

Ginny snapped her head over to the sound of Ellie's voice and her breath caught in her throat. She ripped her arm from Jade's grasp and bolted towards her family.

Jade went to go after her but Adwell put his hand up to stop her.

Ginny ran as fast as she could, afraid that she would be yanked back and not get a chance to hug her family. Her arms couldn't wrap themselves around her children fast enough as she finally reached them. She could hardly stand up straight from the emotion that shook her body and she swore at any moment her legs would give out on her. She felt Scorpius grab her tightly to him, his hold on her helped keep her standing as she sobbed into his chest.

She hardly settled into the embrace of her children before she ran to Draco where he stood over Ember's limp body.

"Ember?" she choked out as Draco caught her falling body as her shaky legs finally gave up on her. "Ember!" she cried out as she crawled to her side. "Is she-"

"No... not yet," Draco said softly before he knelt beside Ginny.

He watched her for a moment as she stroked Ember's hair and helplessly looked over her bleeding form. Every tear that fell down her face tore his heart apart. He gently took her hand in his and his touch made Ginny stop and look up at him.

She could see in his eyes... in his face what this place has done to him. What being separated from her and his kids for so long has done to him. She suddenly felt all eyes on her, and she quickly lowered her head. She could only imagine what sort of sight she must be to them all. Although she looked like most of her normal self, her two different colored pupils and distinctive black veins that ran sporadically throughout her body were unnerving. She felt ashamed of what she was and what ran through her body.

She felt Draco's hand caress her cheek before he lifted her face up to look at him again. He looked at her with so much love in his eyes, nothing in his expression showed uncertainty or fear... just love. If anything, his love for her felt stronger than ever in just the way his hand cupped her face.

She watched his eyes fall on her neck device, it was different than the one they normally wore, this one bigger and tighter around her neck. He reached up to try and take it off her when she quickly pulled away from him.

She shook her head at his attempt to free her from it. "No.," she said in a shaky voice.

"It's ok, I trust you," he said confidently as he went to reach for it once more.

She gently grabbed his hand from her neck and held it between hers. "And I love you for that." She said with a small smile before she lowered her gaze. "But I don't trust myself." Her eyes traveled over his shoulder to Eve and Noah. "He has them... the same powers..." she trailed off before lowering her gaze once more.

Eve kneeled beside Draco and looked at her. "Ginny, you're probably the only person here that has a chance at stopping my father. To do that you're going to have to take that off." She said softly, gesturing to her neck device.

"Eve! Noah!" Adwell called out across the room. "I'll give you both one last chance to stand by my side and help bring our vision to fruition." He offered them.

"Our? There is no our... this is all you... it's always been just you!" Eve shouted back, her voice cracking with anger and emotion.

Adwell just shook his head in disappointment. "Then I'm afraid you will suffer the same fate as the rest of them." He said before his eyes fell on Noah. "And you... my Son?"

The question made Noah's stomach turn and the rage within him build to an almost uncontainable level. He felt Eve grab his arm and yank him back as he unknowingly took a menacing step towards his father.

"Very well... have it your way." He said with a smirk before narrowing his eyes a bit as they fell on Ellie.

She took in a sharp breath and grabbed her head in pain before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the floor. Her body starting violently convulsing as Adwell invaded her mind. Before anyone could run to her side the convulsing abruptly stopped and her body laid still for a moment before she sat up with a jolt. She pulled herself back up on shaky legs, her fists clenched tightly as she tried to block Adwell out.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she felt her father run to her side.

"Ellie, look at me... you can fight it." He reassured her as he grabbed her face to look at him.

She opened her eyes to look at him and a pair of solid black ones stared back. She shoved him hard backward as the same pain she relived those few months ago came back. She released a painful scream as a wave of fire and ice whipped across the room.

Adwell just stood there with an amused look on his face as a small chuckle filled the air. He released his hold on Ellie shortly after in hopes he had made a point with his powers and that they would now back down.

"Take it off," Ginny said through clenched teeth; anger raged within her as she brought her hand up to her neck device. "If I can destroy that implant in his neck, then I have a better chance of taking him down." She looked at Draco. "Promise me you won't let me hurt anyone... no matter what that means for me."

His silver eyes pierced into hers as he let her words sink in. He gave a quick glance at his children and then to Ember's limp body before his eyes fell on her again. His eyes traveled down to the slightest of bumps where he knew their baby to be growing inside her. He felt himself start to get choked up and quickly glanced back up to meet her gaze before he gave a small nod. "I promise."

"Don't be stupid Ginny... you know your family is as good as dead if you take that off and if that implant inside you was to come out..." Adwell trailed off.

She tried to ignore his words but when she the sound of her neck device unlocking it made her stomach turn as she slowly pulled it off. Within seconds her powers surfaced, and she felt her heart start to race. The floor beneath them and the walls around them started to shake as she zoned in on Adwell. The floor started to break apart and large shards of metal and ice shot up out of the ground.

Adwell released a wave of energy that blasted the huge walls of ice and metal apart causing small glass-like pieces to fly back at them all. Eve quickly used her powers to slow the pieces down as Draco and Scorpius shielded them with a wall of ice. Just as the pieces hit the wall, Adwell quickly blasted that apart too.

Everyone's eyes fell on the crowd of woman and men that had joined Adwell's side. The only thing was that they were far from human, maybe once they were, but most of them were more creature than anything. Most of them were deformed and had little to no knowledge of what had become of them. It was heartbreaking to know these were once innocent people that fell victim to Adwell's experimentation.

"Kill them all... I got what I wanted already." Adwell said over his shoulder to them before they ran straight towards Ginny and the others.

The entire first floor of Adwell labs was nothing but complete chaos. Draco lost sight of Ginny as soon he had no choice but to turn his attention to the army of creatures coming at him. The first one he took down with little to no effort with a ball of ice, but the next one was a bit terrifying to even be in the presence of. It was what Draco assumed to be once a man, but he stood at least eight feet tall and had numerous growths all over his body. His face hardly looked like a human face at all as he took a closer look at it. One of his arms looked like it was made of stone and was a lot larger than the other one.

Draco quickly covered his arm in solid ice as the creature swung his rock covered arm at him. The force of the blow was harder than Draco expected and wasted no time forming a large shard of ice to pierce through the man's stomach as he quickly pushed him back and put some distance between the two of them. He could see there was still some fight left in him and he was about to brace himself for another impact when a bolt of lightning hit him in the back and made him fall to the floor.

"Thanks, kid, I owe you one," Draco said to James.

"How about you just let me date your daughter and we call it even?" James suggested.

"I rather have taken the hit." Draco drawled as he put up a shield of ice in front of him and James from debris that came flying at them from a blasting spell. "There, now we're even." He said with a small smirk before taking off towards Hermione, who was struggling with one of Adwell's experiments.

"You know you love me!" James shouted out to him before his eyes fell on Aurora across the way as he quickly ran to her side to help her.

An all-out battle raged on around them, Ginny's attention on Adwell and his on her as their powers continued to clash. Eve made her way over to Scorpius as she knew he was headed straight for Jake. She felt a disabling charm suddenly hit her that was so hard it made her fly back onto the ground. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her as she coughed a few times before picking herself up on wobbly legs.

"Well, it seems a family reunion is in order." Came Jade's voice as she pocketed her wand and pulled out two daggers.

"You're Jade," Eve stated, her eyes wide before she looked over at Noah across the way who was caught up in a fight of his own. "How could you follow our father after all the horrifying things he's done? Not just to our family... our mother, but all these people?" she spat.

Jade ran straight towards her without any hesitation as she swung her blades violently through the air. Jade's combat skills were just as flawless as Eve's, if not better as Eve felt one of the blades cut her upper arm.

"Emotions and family mean nothing to me so save your breath." She snorted.

Eve narrowed her eyes a bit as she took a closer look into Jade's eyes. There was something unsettling in them. "You're a clone?" she stated more than asked. "Where is my sister?"

"She's dead, I'm your sister now." She declared with a smirk before she swiped both blades through the air again.

Her movements were swift and deadly as Eve realized she was out for blood. She tried to keep up with every move Jade made, but she hardly had time to block any of them as she felt another blade graze her cheek. She touched the cut across her face and looked at the fresh blood on her fingertips. She heard Jade snicker before she lunged at her again so fast that Eve was unable to block her attacks. She felt her back hit the floor and then released a painful scream as Jade's blade pierced through her shoulder.

Jade climbed on top of Eve and straddled her; her knees pinning down both of Eve's arms as she stared down at her. "I guess you're nothing without your powers." She teased as she brought the tip of her other blade to Eve's throat. She used the blade to lift the necklace up that was laying around Eve's neck that Scorpius gave her. She watched Eve's eyes glance across the way where Scorpius was. "A little gift from your new boyfriend?" Jade smirked before she cut the necklace off from around her neck and tossed it aside. "Now... let's see how long it'll take you to bleed out." She said with a sadistic smile before pushing her knife firmly against her neck again.

* * *

Scorpius made his way through the crowded battle with nothing but tunnel vision. The only person his eyes were locked on now was Jake, who he had a personal vendetta with. His entire body from the inside out turned ice cold with every step he took towards him, the only thing on his mind was the anger he felt.

"You're a dead man." Scorpius snarled, his nostrils flaring as he watched Jake fling Riley aside like a ragdoll.

"Let's see what you got pretty boy." He dared as the metal beneath his skin surfaced and covered him head to toe.

If Scorpius wasn't so filled with rage he'd been a bit taken aback by Jake's powers, but he knew that nothing right now was going to stop him from killing the man before him. Jake's transformation didn't make Scorpius slow his pace or back down in the slightest as he ran at him full force with an ice-covered fist. He swung it as hard as he could as his only mission was to make him pay for what he did. Jake blocked the blow with his own metal arm and kicked Scorpius hard in the chest causing him to stumble backward. Scorpius quickly skidded to a stop on a trail of ice beneath him and then went at him again, this time jagged pieces lined his body. Tall shards of ice erupted from the floor making a path towards Jake, one of them grazing the side of his leg.

They were both filled with anger and for similar reasons as they fought for vengeance. Scorpius took a few hard hits and returned some right back, but none of them slowed him down in the slightest. He went at Jake like a beast, he could hardly feel any pain from any of the bone-crushing hits Jake threw at him. He felt a random disabling charm him in the back from the battle that raged on around them and soon felt his powers completely disappear. He watched the smirk on Jake's face grow wider as he took advantage of Scorpius' position and punched him with his metal fist.

The force behind Jake's punch knocked Scorpius to the ground. He tasted the blood on his tongue and spit out a mouthful of it. He hardly had time to recover from the first hit when Jake brought his fist down again towards him. This time Scorpius blocked it, but just barely as he felt the power behind Jake's jabs become almost unbearable to withstand. Every bit of concentration went in to not letting Jake overpower him.

Just as Scorpius thought he had Jake's constant blows under control, he snapped his head across the way when he heard Eve scream out in pain. His eyes taking in Jade's blade stuck in her shoulder. He suddenly felt Jake kick him hard in his ribs and was sure they must have been broken as he fell to the floor again. He didn't think he was getting back up after the critical hit he took, but after catching sight of Ember's dying body across the room he felt a wave of adrenaline kick in. He welcomed the ice-cold feeling that ran through him again and watched as Jake was ready to deliver a fatal blow to his head. He quickly brought his hands up to block him and felt Jake's metal fist hit the shield of ice he had formed over himself.

He watched Jake slam his arm down against the icy barrier he had between them and continued to block his throws. He could hear the ice starting to crack as Jake continued to savagely pound down on it to get to him. Scorpius could see nothing but spells flying above him and used his powers to push the shield of ice he had formed forward causing Jake to fly backward. Another random disabling charm had hit Jake just as he fell to the ground letting Scorpius finally get his chance at revenge.

He was on top of Jake in an instant as all pain from his ribs became numb and his powers took over. One of his icy fists grabbing Jake and the other colliding with his face. He punched him again, this time blood freely flowed from Jake's nose and mouth. Scorpius thought back to when he almost killed Noah and how he felt when he thought he had killed him. He couldn't help the anger inside him though and even though Jake was still barely breathing after Scorpius' punches, he still wanted Jake dead. He lifted his fist again to end his life; all clarity of what was right and what was wrong was gone from his mind. As he went to throw his final punch he felt someone grab his arm to stop him.

He snapped his head around to see his father firmly holding his arm back; his grip forceful as he wasn't sure if Scorpius would try to fight him on it. Draco just shook his head at him to back down and for some reason, Scorpius became angrier at his father's actions. Why didn't he want him to kill him? After the way Jake betrayed them and what he did to Ember. He turned back to look down at Jake's bloody face and again thought back to his encounter with Noah. His fist was still clenched and ready to hit him and then he felt his father loosen his grip on him. He just kept looking back and forth between them both, unsure of what he wanted to do. After one last look at his father, he put his arm down and stood up over Jake.

Draco looked down at the young man before him, a disgusted sneer etched on his face. "If my daughter dies... I'm coming back for you... and I'll kill you myself."

* * *

When Eve felt the necklace around her neck break, she could feel the difference immediately. It was like all control she thought she had mastered over all these years was completely gone. She had no implant to help stabilize them and no neck device or soothing stone to stop them from growing... and that scared her.

She felt the tip of the blade pierce the skin of her neck and as quick as the pain came it went. She opened her tightly shut eyes to reveal two bright purple pupils as she stared up at Jade. She watched her try to push the blade into her neck, but her powers took control of Jade's actions.

Jade struggled to try and push the blade deeper, but she soon realized Eve was stopping her. She was suddenly flung backward off her and landed hard on her back. Her eyes fell on the blade that had slid across the floor between her and Eve and she quickly scrambled over to grab it. She was so close to grabbing it when it lifted off the floor and flew at her before she could reach it.

Jade stopped in her tracks; frozen in shock as she looked down to the knife plunged into the middle of her stomach. Her eyes traveled up to meet Eve's who walked closer to her. She couldn't help the sadness in her eyes as she looked at Jade and what she had done to her. Knowing that Jade was the clone of her sister... a sister she had never met... a sister that lived a lonely life as she had inside the walls of this hellhole... it tore her up inside.

"I'm sorry," Eve whispered out through an emotional sigh before she pulled the blade from Jade's body.

She felt Jade grab onto her as her legs gave out and slid down to the floor. She just held onto her until Jade took her last few breaths and then died in her arms.

She quickly regained herself and glanced across the way to make sure Scorpius was alright. Her eyes then shifted over to the fight between her father and Ginny. There was no way either of them would out power the other as long as Ginny and Adwell had those implants in their necks. Ginny's powers would prove to be far more powerful if only she didn't have the implant holding her back. The fear was she would completely lose control and sense of herself without it, but if her father was to be stopped then they needed to take the risk.

The raging battle came to a stop when a large electrical spark spread across the room when Ginny and Adwell's powers crashed into each other. It was powerful enough to bring everyone in the room to their knees, even Adwell and Ginny. The look in Adwell's eyes was deadly as he glared at Ginny and the others. He glanced around at all his failed experiments, most of which were killed by the others. An angry sneer crossed his face as he stood back up and looked across the room at Blaise. He didn't say anything, he just waited for Blaise to walk over to him... and he did.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Raven asked as she grabbed his arm to stop him.

Blaise ignored her, his eyes were glossy as he just kept walking towards Adwell, unable to break the hold that he had on him.

"Dad, stop, please stop," Raven begged him as she roughly pulled him back.

Blaise quickly threw a spell at her that sent her flying across the room and slamming into Ron. She scrambled to get back up but stopped when she saw her father was only a few feet from Adwell.

"Remember, you only have yourselves to blame for this," Adwell stated before his arm started to cover in metal and form a sharp blade that he thrust right into Blaise's stomach.

"NO! DAD!" Raven screamed as she went to run to him, but Ron grabbed her to hold her back.

Ginny's eyes naturally found Draco's; both held a look of shock in them at what just happened. Her gaze was broken when she felt Eve skid to a halt beside her and grab her shoulders.

"Ginny, that implant needs to come out... now." She urged her.

Ginny quickly shook her head before Eve grabbed it firmly and looked at her.

"You have no choice; you've played host to these powers first. You're the reason my father was even able to handle that serum in the first place. Your body was able to handle each one of these powers on their own... you are much stronger than him, but only if you let go of all leverage."

"No, I can't, I'll kill you all." She choked out through her cracking voice.

Eve wanted to reassure her that she wouldn't, but the truth was she didn't know exactly how powerful Ginny really was. She only knew that Ginny could easily overpower her father if all restraints were removed.

"You just need to trust that when it comes to the love you have for your family... that you'll make the right decision. You have a very protective instinct... you wouldn't let any of them die." Eve tried to make her see the control she knew she could have over her powers, even if she was doubtful herself.

Ginny's eyes fell on Blaise's body across the room; Raven's cries of grief ringing in her ears. She then looked at Ember, fear that she lost her made her turn angry. She finally nodded in agreement. "I'll do it, but Adwell's implant-"

"Leave that to us." Harry cut her off before he looked at Draco. "We'll try to get to it, if not then it will at least be enough of a distraction so you can get to him."

Ginny's eyes locked with Adwell's across the way as she let Harry's words set in. The amount of hate and anger she had for him was overwhelming and she knew without anything holding her powers back she was bound to lose control. She held her hand up and watched abstract streams of electricity dance around her fingers before she went to place it up to the implant behind her ear.

"STOP!" Adwell yelled out. "Mrs. Malfoy... you don't want to do that. You will end up killing your family, surely you don't want to let them meet such a tragic fate?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at his words and his tone. "I think you're just scared of what I'll do to you once I get my hands on you." She said through clenched teeth.

He grinned at her words. "You are confident that you will maintain control... but you're foolish for thinking that."

Ginny's lips trembled a bit as her emotions started to take over again when she thought about the possibility of hurting one of her children. She was angry at what he had made her, what she had turned into and she wanted him dead for it. She finally decided this was her best chance at overpowering him and without another thought she touched her fingertip to the implant behind her ear and let electricity course through her skin and damage the implant. She released a painful yelp as the electrical shock brought her to the floor, her body squirming a bit as the chip inside her was destroyed.

The entire room seemed to have gone silent as Ginny lay there for a good moment completely still, just her heavy breathing could be heard as she placed her forehead against the cold floor. She could feel the effects of her powers almost instantly and immediately regretted her decision.

"Ginny?" Draco softly called out as he took a step towards her.

She pushed herself up onto all fours, her copper strands blocked his view of her face, but he could tell she was in pain. It wasn't long before Draco could see the difference in her body, her veins turning black and gold. She grabbed her head in excruciating pain as her mind started to race.

"I- I can't do this." She choked out through the pain in her head.

Draco knelt in front of her and grabbed her arms tightly. "You can, look at me Ginny."

She picked her head up and opened her eyes and two black orbs stared back at him. "I can't," she whispered before Draco felt himself being thrown backward.

Draco quickly jumped back to his feet as Ginny's powers grew more out of control and it killed him to see her this way. His mind went back to the first day she got her powers and how he watched her die on that lab table. He thought of how her memories were completely jumbled from the ordeal and he was scared he might lose her again.

Ice and electricity whipped across the room and Draco felt the floor beneath him start to shake and the walls around them rumbled as he watched Ginny try to hold on to any last bit of control she could. He suddenly grabbed his head in pain as it brought him to his knees, and he saw that everyone else was experiencing the same thing. He glanced over at Aurora who was a few feet from him and could see the glimmer of purple in her eyes as Ginny was messing with all their minds. He could see from the pain in Ginny's face that it wasn't intentional, but more of her not being able to control the massive amount of power running through her.

Ginny somehow managed to get to her feet; her appearance almost unrecognizable as her pale skin turned to an almost gray color and her veins shimmered with bits of black and gold. Her eyes were nothing more than two white orbs, two orbs that no matter how hard Draco tried to look into them, he could find nothing familiar.

"We need to get to Adwell now, as long as he still has that chip in we are going to be Ginny's main target!" Harry shouted over to Draco.

Draco finally managed to rip his gaze from Ginny and nodded at Harry's words before he joined him in a sprint towards Adwell. His mad dash towards the man he hated the most in his entire life right now was cut short when large shards of metal, glass, and ice were randomly shooting up through the ground. He dodged them as best as he could all while pieces of the walls and ceiling came crumbling down around them. He knew if he didn't get to Adwell soon his new mission would have to be getting his family out of this place alive before it collapsed on top of them all.

As they neared Adwell, Draco felt the hairs on his body stand up as the form of Harry beside him disappeared into a bolt of lightning. He could feel the ice beneath his skin take over as he got closer and went at Adwell with full force. He swung his icy fists at him but Adwell was quick to avoid it. Draco was quick to deliver his next hit and was pleased when he felt a shard of ice impale the side of Adwell's leg. The growl of pain that came from Adwell only fueled Draco further as he used the shard still impaled inside Adwell to start turning his whole leg to ice causing Adwell to let out another growl of pain.

Before Draco could make his next move he felt his whole body go stiff and start to back away from Adwell. He knew something didn't feel right and he could tell Adwell was trying to take over his mind, but something was wrong. He turned to Eve, her eyes as purple as he had ever seen them before as she tried to also enter Draco's mind in an attempt to force her father out of it.

All focus was broken when a bolt of lightning hit Adwell right in the chest and sent his flying backward. Adwell quickly recovered and quickly covered in metal to keep Harry from trying to get to the implant in his neck. Harry tried to penetrate the metal shield around his body, but it was no use. Harry gathered a large ball of electrical energy in his hands and threw it up into the air. As the abstract waves of lightning danced across the room, Scorpius and Aurora turned it to ice until it almost encased Adwell into this solid ball of ice. It wasn't long before Adwell burst out of the shell of ice around him.

The look of anger on Adwell's face made them all take a step back as he waved his hands and sharp pieces of metal went flying at all of them. Scorpius was able to shield himself and Harry with a barrier of ice and he glanced over to Aurora to make sure she had done the same. As soon as Aurora's shield was taken down, part of the ground had opened from Ginny's powers and a piece of metal pierced the side of her leg. Scorpius quickly went to run to her side when he and Harry stopped short from a large crack in the ground that split apart. Adwell made his way over to Aurora, ice forming over her ankles so she couldn't get away. She struggled with everything in her to pull herself free, to absorb the ice, but the fear of death approaching her made her stop thinking clearly.

She had finally looked up to see Adwell standing just a few feet from her, his arm turned to metal as she was about to meet the same fate as Blaise.

"You're expendable, it's your mother who is most valuable to me." He smirked as he looked down at her.

Scorpius and Harry watched helplessly from where they were unable to get to her in time when a flicker of electricity flew past them.

"JAMES, NO!" Harry screamed.

The electrical form of James slammed right into Adwell making them both hit the ground hard. James felt himself slide across the floor before quickly trying to get up as Adwell was coming right at him. It was so fast James had nowhere to run and felt himself get slammed right into the wall and pinned there by Adwell's metal form.

James felt the metal shard pierce his side and released a painful scream.

As soon as Draco finally freed Aurora she went to run to James, but Draco snatched her in his arms to stop her from getting herself killed.

"You're a fool boy, you're no match for someone like me," Adwell said to James as he watched the blood drip from James' mouth.

James just looked up at him, his eyes meeting Aurora's over Adwell's shoulder across the room before he quickly reached up and sent an electrical shock into Adwell's neck.

Adwell grabbed his neck and disbelief crossed his face as he felt his implant start to fail him. Before he could finish off James he turned to Ginny, who was completely lost in her powers at this point.

"Kill them, they think you're a monster." He said to her.

Ginny just looked at him, unsure of what to think, not that she was capable of making sense of anything that anybody told her right now. Her powers were destructive and Draco noticed there was not one flame within her. Every other power was present but all signs of that fire that burned within Ginny was completely burned out and that scared him.

The building was starting to cave in as Hermione and Ron grabbed Ellie and Riley and took cover under the shield of ice that Scorpius formed over them. Eve was trying to outrun the floor from collapsing beneath her and tried to dodge all debris that came dropping all around her. She fell to the floor as the ground became uneven and rolled out of the way of a large piece of the ceiling falling beside her. She went to form a barrier around herself but put one over James across the way as his bleeding body laid there helplessly. She tried to form one above her as well, but she could feel the blood dripping from her nose as she struggled to control her powers.

Noah ran as fast as he could to get to his sister, but his legs wouldn't go as fast as he pushed himself. He saw the beam falling from the ceiling right for Eve and he felt himself just let go and give in to the monster within him. A loud howl filled the building and bounced off the walls around them as he grabbed Eve just in time.

Eve turned around to see him over her, this large protective form of a werewolf covered her from anymore falling debris. His yellow eyes piercing into hers as she dug her fingers into his fur and clung to him for safety.

Ginny's focus had finally fallen on Adwell as he attempted to hit her with his powers while her back was turned. She was completely in control of him and he was on his knees in front of her. The sound of his bones snapping one by one as she narrowed her eyes at him. Adwell hit her with a bolt of lightning in an attempt to have her back off and she hit one of the walls hard. She was hardly affected by the critical hit and instead just turned angrier as the earth beneath them shook.

Draco ran towards Ginny, he was determined to get her back, but as he approached her he could feel her keeping him away from her. His nose started dripping blood from all her powers affecting him.

"Ginny! Stop! It's me Draco!" he yelled to her.

She looked at him, a heartbreaking wail of pain and sadness filled the room as she was so lost right now. He didn't care, he had to get to her, and he pushed through all the pain until he was able to grab her face in his hands.

"Ginny... don't do this. Our children... our family. You'll kill us all." He said; tears in his eyes as he could see there was nothing left of her, nothing familiar about her that gave him any kind of hope.

She grabbed his hand from her face, and she furrowed her eyebrows. He could see there was this build-up of energy and power that she needed to release, and he knew they were all as good as dead if she did. She gently pressed a finger to his temple, and he felt this excruciating pain fill his head. He felt like he had been hit in the head with a hammer as his vision blurred and he became so dizzy he fell to the floor. He watched her make her way towards Aurora and James and he tried to get up but there was no way he was going to make it. He wasn't sure he was even able to stay conscious much longer from the amount of pain he felt.

It wasn't long before he heard screaming and something hard hit him, but he didn't know what. All he remembered seeing was a bright white light that blinded him, and he swore he watched almost everyone in the room drop. He could tell there were more people there suddenly, but he didn't know who. Surely more of Adwell's men and he knew he had lost; he knew his whole family would now be nothing more than Adwell's experiments.

* * *

Something bright was shining on his face and his stomach sank as he remembered the bright light that constantly shined down on him in that lab room. He almost wished he was dead than have to live another day in this hellhole. He couldn't even begin to start to make sense of how he got back to this room again and what kind of condition his family was in. Were they even still alive? Was he even alive?

"Draco?"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of his name and he was met by a bright light. He squinted his eyes and realized his room was a bit different than he remembered.

"How are you feeling?"

He blinked a few more times as the voice started to sound more familiar and then turned to look at the man sitting in the chair across the room. It wasn't until the man walked over to him that he realized who it was.

"Neville?"

"Ah, first name, I should feel so honored." Neville lightly joked.

"Adwell got you too?"

Neville was quiet for a moment. "No."

Draco looked at him again and then sat up.

"Draco, you're in St. Mungo's."

Draco just stared at him with wide eyes. "Wh-what? You mean, I'm out of the lab? How?"

"The Ministry... let's just say McGonagall I made a good argument about them intervening in Adwell's experiments. Especially after he publicly showed off Ginny and went after minors. The Potter, Malfoy, Weasley, and Granger names around here are well established and a lot of us had your backs. It wasn't easy and I've been trying to get to you guys sooner. There was a lot of debate on Adwell becoming the new Minister of Magic and-"

"Ginny? Where is she? Is she alive? What about my kids? Where are they?" Draco frantically asked as he tried to get out of bed and then realized he was in more pain than he thought.

"Draco, calm down. Everyone is ok... well most everyone, some of them aren't out of the woods yet."

Draco took notice of Neville's softened tone as he lowered his head. He looked around for his clothes and then noticed them neatly folded and cleaned laying on the chair beside him. He grabbed them and hesitated for a moment as he realized they were the same ones he wore in the lab. Fighting through the mental trauma that he decided to push aside for now, he slipped them on and made his way out of the room.

"Draco, wait, you need to rest." Neville tried to reason with him.

Draco ripped the door open and almost slammed into someone. It took him a moment to realize it was an Auror from the Ministry.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Malfoy how are you feeling today?" he asked.

Draco just ignored him before he looked at the large crowd of Aurors down the hall. They were all standing around another room, one that was heavily guarded and magically sealed to keep anyone from going in or out of it.

"What's going on down there?" he asked.

He saw Matthew walk up to him, he was a wreck himself but nothing major. "It's Adwell, he's alive still."

Draco hardly let him finish the sentence before he made a move to go in there and kill the bastard himself.

"Draco, don't." Neville urged as he grabbed his arm.

Draco ripped his arm from Neville's grasp as anger took over. "What the hell do you mean don't? Do you have any idea what that man has done? Do you have any idea what we've been through!" Draco yelled.

He went to give Neville a warning with his powers to back off when he realized he couldn't conjure them. That's when he finally noticed the thin metal bracelet on his wrist.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked, every bit of him grew frantic and angry as nothing was making sense.

He went to try and walk towards Adwell again when Matthew blocked him and the other Auror grabbed him back. Draco was ready to put up a fight just to get to him, but he felt very dizzy and slowly dropped to his knees. He grabbed his head in pain and that's when he felt some sort of bandage on the side of his head.

Neville could see he was overwhelmed, and a mixture of emotions was apparent on his face. "Draco, let me take you to Ember." He gently offered.

Ember's name made Draco stop all movement and forget about any pain or questions he had. "Ember?"

Neville nodded before he helped Draco to his feet and gave Matthew a small nod that he'd be alright to handle Draco.

Not much was said between the two men as they made their way to Ember's room, mostly because Neville could see the millions of questions and concerns on Draco's face and knew he didn't know where to even begin. He wasn't sure Draco even knew how to feel at this very moment. As they neared Ember's room he saw another Auror outside of her room guarding it.

"Mr. Malfoy," the man nodded before stepping aside to let him and Neville in.

Draco just stood in the doorway for a moment as his eyes fell on his oldest daughter.

"The healers have done everything they can... the rest is up to her," Neville said softly before he turned to leave. "I'll be in the hall."

Draco walked over to the chair beside Ember's bed and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. She was in a coma, her face almost unrecognizable from all the swelling and bruising. He noticed she had one of the bracelets on as well and his mind went back to trying to remember what happened before he blacked out.

He took her hand in his and ran his thumb across the top of hers. Her skin was ice cold and he couldn't help but grow emotional at this. He wanted her to be warm, he wanted her to be safe and comfortable. His mind started to wander, and he was going back to thinking that maybe this was all a dream. Maybe he was going to wake up in that lab room after all.

"Draco?"

He was pulled back to reality when he heard Hermione's voice. He looked up at her when she came up beside and squatted down to his level.

"Hermione?" he choked out as the lump in his throat grew painful. "Where are-"

"They're all at the Ministry and have been questioned numerous times about the entire ordeal." She quickly grabbed one of his arms and firmly pulled him back down as he went to take off at the news. "They are all safe... even Ginny." She finished and eased up her firm grip on him when she felt him sit all the way back down again.

"Ginny?"

"I haven't seen her, but Kingsley has and Matthew. She is being held somewhere else in the Ministry. I only know that she is safe, but we have to get back there soon."

"And James?"

"He is here... in St. Mungos. He's in and out right now, but he should make a full recovery," she said with a small smile before she looked at Ember. "She's strong, she'll pull through." She said before she looked back at Draco.

Her heart hurt for him, she could see the emotions in his eyes that he was hiding.

"Draco, talk to me."

His glossy eyes locked with hers for a moment before he finally swallowed the lump that had been forming. She thought he'd break down right there in front of her but instead he placed a soft kiss on Ember's hand and got up.

"Let's get to the Ministry." He said, his tone cold and any cracking in his voice had disappeared.

* * *

Silence was the only thing that filled the room around them. Shock and uncertainty was the only thing that was on their minds as they waited for one of their parents to walk through those doors. Scorpius looked down at Aurora's rested head on his shoulder, he could still see the tracks of her tears on her pale cheeks. She feared for her family still and whether her parents and sister were ok. She thought of James and how he risked his life for her; fresh tears spilled down her face and she felt Scorpius hold her a bit tighter.

Scorpius turned to Ellie, who was on the other side of him, her arm wrapped around Riley beside her. His eyes took in the burn marks on Riley's hands and up her arms and he felt the sting of tears behind his eyes. He suddenly felt like a scared little boy and all he wanted was his parents.

This dark and depressing presence just seemed to loom over all of them and the silence and them getting lost in their own thoughts only made it worse.

"Hey."

Scorpius snapped his head up at the sound of his father's voice. "Dad?"

He was barely on his feet when Draco grabbed him into a hug. Scorpius didn't care about holding back his emotions, maybe that meant he wasn't as strong as his father was, but he couldn't help it. He felt the pile of his sisters join in on the embrace and it was everything he needed to feel right now. He could feel how tightly his father was holding onto them, he didn't think he would ever let go of them again and right now that was alright with him... with all of them.

How was it that only a few months ago the only thing that troubled him was what he wanted to do with his life and now here he was. Waiting minute by minute, hour by hour if his sister would live... if his mother was ok... or just wondering when they would all be able to go home and be a family again.

After a while, Draco went to pull back but he felt Scorpius' hands clenched tightly around him. "You're ok, Son. I have you now." Draco whispered to him as he held his face in his hands.

Scorpius stared at him for a moment before he finally released this emotional breath and nodded at his words. The feeling of relief to have his father here with him again was overwhelming. The fact that even though their plan didn't go accordingly, they still succeeded. His parents were out of that place and although he knew the condition of his mother and sister were unknown, he was happy they were free from Adwell.

"Dad, where's Mum? How's Ember? What about James?" Aurora asked.

"I haven't seen Mum yet. Ember is still critical and as for James, he'll be back to pissing me off in no time." Draco told her before he gave her a tight hug. "What happened? At the lab?"

Scorpius and Aurora exchanged a quick look before they turned back to their father.

"I thought Mum was going to kill me." Aurora choked out. "But Adwell got a hold of me first and almost did it himself." She explained as she pulled back her hair and revealed a long cut to the side of her neck. "Mum... saved me."

"She was normal?" Draco asked as hope filled his heart.

"No... I mean, I don't know. She didn't look normal... or act normal. She just killed him... with her powers."

Draco closed his eyes tightly to keep any emotion from showing. "He's still alive."

"What!" the whole room said in unison.

"He's at St. Mungo's..." he trailed off.

"No, I saw Mum kill him... I mean... I thought I did. Everything went white, I definitely saw him drop. If Mum didn't kill him then she hurt him pretty bad." Aurora explained.

"We need to get to St. Mungo's and finish the job," Scorpius said as he went to lead the way, the rest of his sisters in agreement as they went to follow him.

Draco grabbed his arm to stop him. "Stop, I've already attempted that. The whole room is guarded by Aurors and sealed with magic. It's not happening today." Draco saw the disappointed look on their faces and the fear that Adwell would escape and be a threat to them again. "They've questioned you all?"

They all nodded.

He took note of the bracelets on all their wrists. "Where's Eve and Noah?"

"We don't know," Ellie answered.

"They're downstairs in a holding cell." Came Harry's voice from the doorway.

Draco just stared at him, their eyes locked, and he could see everything he was feeling in Harry's eyes. He knew Harry, like him, was holding back all the emotional, mental and physical trauma they have been through. Right now, they had to be strong for their kids and it wasn't the time to fall apart.

"Why are they in a holding cell?" Scorpius asked, his concern for Eve growing.

"They probably just haven't been questioned yet, so they aren't cleared to leave. Let Harry and I talk to Matthew or Kingsley and get some more answers." Draco explained. "Wait here."

Draco and Harry made their way to their office and closed the door. The two of them just stood there in silence, unsure of what to say.

Draco looked at Harry's bandaged shoulder and then his mind went to James. "How's James? I heard he's going to pull through?" Draco asked.

Harry lowered his head before nodding and couldn't bring himself to meet Draco's gaze again. "Ember?" he managed to choke out as his voice broke.

Draco was quiet for a few moments. "She's hanging in there."

It was quiet again and Draco swore at any moment Harry would crumble to pieces and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it together if he did.

"Don't," Draco said suddenly. "Not now... please." He practically begged Harry.

Harry still hung his head but nodded.

"Have you seen Ginny?" Draco asked.

Harry, finally managing to hold back his tears, looked up at the blond again and shook his head. "No, but Hermione was working on finding out something."

Draco just nodded. "Adwell is still alive." He stated, his tone turning colder.

"Yeah, I saw."

"That's a problem," Draco said looking at Harry again. "We need to change that."

* * *

Eve and Noah sat on the floor of the holding cell beside each other. Hours had gone by and they hadn't heard a thing about the others. They both knew why they were here and what very well may happen to them. Neither of them said a word, a mixture of emotions just seemed to consume them both.

Noah heard Eve give a small wince of pain as she adjusted herself a bit. "How's your shoulder?" he asked as his eyes fell on the sling around her arm.

"Surprisingly... it's not the thing that hurts the most right now." She said in a small voice.

He watched a small tear fall from her eye and he knew she was thinking about a lot of the same things he was, but he had a feeling Scorpius must've been her main thought. "I'm sure everyone is... ok." He tried to reassure her, but his own thoughts fell on Ember and whether she was dead or not.

"You think we'll see any of them again?" she asked in a soft voice.

Noah wasn't really sure what to say to that. They could very well be on their way to Azkaban, Eve more than him. She was the one working alongside their father all these years and although Noah knew it to be the only way of life she knew; the Ministry might not see it that way. As for him, he may not have been working in the lab yet with his father, but he helped him by feeding him information about Ember and her family. He felt like a piece of shit and he wouldn't even put up a fight if he ended up behind bars.

"I don't know." Was all he could say.

He watched a silent tear slide down her cheek at his words.

"I don't want to go back." She whispered.

"Back where? The lab? You won't have to because-"

"No, not there." She cut him off, her voice rising a bit before she lifted her head to look at him. "I don't want to go back to... to how I use to feel... alone and unwanted." She choked out. "It was nice feeling like a real person for once and they genuinely needed my help and... it was... it was just nice." She said wiping her tears away.

Noah gave her a sad look; he would never fully understand the kind of life his sisters lived. He only knew of Lucy and Crystal and as for Eve, he had never really met her except once or twice. He was at least thankful that Eve was out of that lab, but he knew she had a lot to work through. He could see the growth she made just these past few weeks being out of that place and interacting with people her own age. His mind went to Scorpius again and the bond he and Eve had.

"He looked at me differently... not as a monster... I just feel like I'm able to overcome all the horror in my life when I see him and now... I may never get that feeling again and it hurts so much." She cried. "Why does it hurt so much?" she sobbed, turning to look at him.

He didn't realize his eyes had filled with tears when he heard Eve's words. "Love... it's called love, Eve." He said softly before he put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He laced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a light squeeze. "And you're not alone... not anymore."

* * *

"I want to see Ginny," Draco demanded as Kingsley walked into the room with Matthew and Neville.

"Mr. Malfoy I know how anxious you are to see her, but honestly right now it would be too risky," Matthew explained.

"I don't care, I want to see her, take me to her now!" he shouted, getting up from his seat.

"Draco, calm down, I'll take you to see her, but we need to talk first," Kingsley said, his tone softer.

Draco looked at Neville who gave a small nod of agreement before he finally sat back down. "What's going on? Is she ok?"

"She is, but..." Neville trailed off.

"But what!" Draco demanded answers.

"The only reason the Ministry finally backed me up was because of how much I stressed that you guys were not a danger. That Adwell was the one with ill intentions and with your powers he would be the biggest threat. Now, as they may believe me when it comes to you, Harry and the kids... they don't see it that way when it comes to Ginny." Neville explained.

Draco wished he could tell them how ridiculous that sounded and wanted to hex them all into oblivion, but his mind went back to when Ginny first got her powers. The way she practically came back from the dead and killed those men and Adwell's brother. How she would have killed him and Harry if she had the chance.

"Ginny isn't what you think." He said, his tone softening a bit. "I just want to take her home with me and my kids... I just want my family back." He quietly said as he tried to hold back his tears at the memory of what his family used to be and wondered if they would ever be complete again. "She can control them; I know she can... she just needs help. What about Eve, she can help Ginny. I know she can, she's studied Ginny for the past couple of months and-"

"Eve is not going to be an option right now. The Ministry wants her and Noah to be questioned and most likely serve some time in Azkaban." Matthew explained.

"That's absurd." Draco snarled, his voice rising again. "Eve was a prisoner forced into doing her father's bidding... and honestly... so was Noah. Kingsley, you know how much they've helped get you guys into that lab and they are still being looked at as guilty?"

"I do know Draco. I believe until we find our next Minister of Magic I will temporarily take the position back. I'm hoping with that I will have more pull on the situation, so, for now, I can't ok that. In the meantime, Ginny will be kept here at the Ministry in one of our more secured holding rooms."

"Before you completely put your trust in Eve and Noah, have you ever thought that Eve only helped them break into the lab as a way to bring them to her father?" Matthew suggested. "She read my mind that day when I came to see you. She knew I would offer her protection and she knew I'd take her to your children."

"If you thought that then why did you even offer her an escape out of there?" Draco snapped.

"Because I truly did believe she was a victim and she still very well may be. All I'm saying is that Adwell is the only family that she's known. Her want and need to please her father could have made her turn against us. Turning over all of your kids to her father would be most redeeming for her and she would win her father over again."

"They had a chance to join Adwell again if they wanted to." Draco snapped again as he tried to defend them. After a few moments of silence, he just shook his head. "You're wrong."

"Most likely yes, but I'm just saying after everything you all have been through, I wouldn't trust her and Noah so easily." Matthew finished.

The room grew quiet again as Draco thought of the possibility of Matthew's accusations being true. He only grew angrier as he wasn't sure what to believe. Right now his thoughts were only on his children and Ginny and getting them all home.

"Ginny will be safe here Draco," Neville reassured him as he broke the silence.

"And Adwell? What happens when he escapes that hospital room?"

"That won't happen. Adwell is worse off than you think." Matthew said.

"I don't care, I won't let my guard down for a moment. Now I want to see Ginny... Now!" he demanded once more, this time his tone held more of a threat to it.

"I'll take you to her, but you must understand... she's a bit off right now," Kingsley told Draco as he gave him a sad look.

It killed Draco every time he saw Ginny look at him as a stranger. He hoped these powers hadn't completely destroyed her and all the memories they shared. He saw what they were doing to her, how much harm they must have caused her. He let out a shaky breath before he nodded at Kingsley's words and followed him downstairs to where Ginny was.

As Draco approached the room he saw one of the Ministry's MediWizards leaving it and she turned to him with a small smile. "Just to prepare you, she is on a light sedative potion to keep her calm. The baby is doing great, nice strong heartbeat and she's growing beautifully."

"She?" Draco asked.

"Oops, sorry were we wanting it to be a surprise?" The lady whispered giving him an apologetic look.

"No... no, it's... it's ok." Draco said softly as he couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

He watched Kingsley unlock the secured door before he closed it behind Draco to give him some privacy. Draco walked into the room where he saw the small form of Ginny laying on a bed in the middle of the room with her back to him. He made his way over to her where she was curled up into a ball and her long fiery strands covered her face. He took a seat on the chair beside the bed, unsure if she was asleep.

"Ginny?"

He was surprised when she sat up a little bit and looked at him. She had no expression, she just stared at him. She looked a little confused and furrowed her eyebrows a bit before she slowly rubbed her head.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, it looked like she was having some discomfort. He could see the dried blood around her nostrils and her pale complexion had a gray tint to it. Her once vibrant hair looked dull and had random colored strands running throughout it.

She locked eyes with him at the question. "Draco?"

He nodded, happy that she remembered him. His small smile soon faded when he saw her starting to go into a panic. Her breathing became more rapid and her eyes started spilling tears.

"Hey, it's ok." He tried to reassure her as he took a seat on the bed beside her.

He felt her body go rigid beside him, but he still wrapped one of his arms around her and tried to calm her down.

"Ginny, look at me." He said firmly.

She did what he asked, her eyes still weren't the same color. They would both change to a random color as he could see the powers still trying to overpower one another inside her. He searched her eyes for any signs of familiarity and found nothing. His heart sank when she pushed him away from her and just kept shaking her head at him.

"Please go... please leave me alone." She cried.

"No, don't say that Ginny, please. Just look at me." He begged her.

She looked at him again, but even though she was staring right at him, he could see an emptiness in her eyes. She was looking right past him, nothing from their lives over the past eighteen years was present in them. He couldn't help the few tears that escaped and ran down his face before he quickly wiped them away. He watched her eyes droop a bit and slowly started to slip further into delirium.

"Come on, lay down... you just need some rest." He told her but it was more to himself as he hoped she was just exhausted from the ordeal. He just couldn't accept that this is what was left of his wife.

Ginny didn't respond or move, she let Draco lay her back in bed and cover her with the blankets before he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"My father... he's ok?" she asked in barely a whisper as she started to doze off.

Draco just stared down at her before he ran the tips of his fingers through the top of her hair and then gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Yeah... he's ok now." He choked out.

 **A/N: So a lot of stuff going on. What are your thoughts? I am in the end chapters on this story now so probably only another 2 or 3 chapters to come. Reviews are so greatly appreciated as are all of you 3**

 **If you guys haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. I post chapter previews and updates on there as well as open discussion on new and past fics I've written.**

 **Thanks for being amazing guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to post again! There's a lot of emotion in the chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

Draco was walking up to the doors of the Manor and just stopped and stood there for a minute. He watched his children stop beside him before they entered. He knew they must be all thinking the same thing he was, that something was missing and things just didn't feel the same as before. They had been through so much these past few months and now here they were returning home without their mother and sister. Draco turned his attention to Molly running from the house towards them with Ava in her arms.

"Thank goodness you're all ok." She cried as she pulled them each into a tight hug.

Draco felt her pull him into a hug, but he felt a bit numb right now. His eyes fell on little Ava and his heart broke at how much bigger she looked compared to when he last saw her. He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her little body against him and just closed his eyes as he took in her scent. He missed the smell of her hair and just the feeling of holding her in his arms.

"Dad!" Harper cried out as she ran full speed at him and jumped into his arms. "Please don't ever leave me again." She sobbed into the crook of his neck.

Draco was overwhelmed with emotion at this point and because he wasn't sure how to express it at this moment he swallowed the lump in his throat and gave Harper a small smile before he kissed her on the forehead.

Mrs. Weasley must've picked up on his emotions because she took Ava from him and told Harper to follow her back inside and to give him some space. Hearing Molly say those words just ripped his heart to shreds and he felt so guilty. Here he was with his kids at home and there was no Ginny. He couldn't remember the last time or if ever he had been away from her like this. Being apart from her in the lab was different than them being separated and him having to continue to live a normal life without her until she was well enough to come home. He was convinced he wouldn't be able to do it without her; she was his other half and what kept his heart beating.

He desperately tried to put himself in a better state of mind for the sake of his kids and for Ember, but it was proving to be far more difficult than he thought.

"I've finished the rest of the repairs around the Manor from the attack a few months ago. So, everything is back to normal." Molly said with a small smile.

Draco couldn't help but snort at her comment. "This is the furthest thing from normal." He quietly said before he led the way into the Manor and went straight to his bedroom.

Scorpius and his sisters just exchanged a concerned look with each other at their father's behavior. It was very out of character for their father to act this way, he was always a confident man and was always in control of his emotions besides the occasional temper when he overreacted to something.

Scorpius patted his grandmother's shoulder before he led her inside of the Manor.

* * *

It had been a few hours since they all had arrived back home, and Aurora couldn't take how cold and empty the Manor felt without her mother and sister there. She glanced around her room and thought about how the last time she was in here she was almost killed by Adwell's men. She also thought about how James had saved her and then her thoughts went to him and how she couldn't wait to see him again.

"Aurora?" came Harper's voice from the doorway.

Aurora sat up on her bed and wiped a stray tear away that she didn't realize fell. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Who's going to make dinner? I'm hungry."

Aurora just stared at her; she could see how miserable she was and how much of her spunk was missing. She just thought about everything they had been through and she didn't want any of them to suffer anymore.

"How about we make something together?" she suggested.

Harper quickly nodded at the offer with a bright smile before leading the way down to the kitchen. Harper's smile was enough to get Aurora to a better state of mind; she didn't want to see that sadness in Harper's eyes ever again.

"Hey!" Scorpius called from his bedroom as he watched Harper and Aurora making their way past his open door. "What are you doing?"

Aurora stopped in his doorway. "We're going to make dinner... Harper's hungry." She said with a small smile as she watched Harper quickly run ahead of her. She turned back to him; she could see he was reliving the past few months in his mind. "Give us a hand?"

He looked at her puffy eyes as they pleaded with him to say yes as an attempt to make things seem as normal as possible again. He nodded before tossing the book he was skimming through aside.

Once they were in the kitchen and started cooking, silence filled the room again and the horror that was their lives the past few months started to fill their heads again.

Aurora cleared her throat a bit. "So, Harper, hopefully, we can get back to Hogwarts soon. I'm sure you'd like to get back to playing Quidditch."

"Pft, hell yes, the team probably sucks without me." She said confidently.

Aurora and Scorpius exchanged a small smile at Harper's comment.

"You should let Scorpius cook instead," Harper suggested as she took a peek into the pan on the stove.

"What? Why?" Aurora asked.

"Uh, hello, because you suck at cooking." Harper rolled her eyes.

"I do not!" Aurora snapped.

Scorpius just snickered before sliding between Aurora and the stove. "Listen, it's not my fault I got Mum and Grandma's cooking skills. Guess you can set the table." He teased before bracing himself from Aurora's hard punch to his arm.

"Are Eve and Noah going to Azkaban?" Harper suddenly asked.

Aurora noticed Scorpius' expression sadden at the mention of Eve. She cleared her throat and grabbed a stack of dishes out of the cabinet. "Let's not talk about that right now, here why don't you start setting the table." She said with a small smile.

Harper gave her a small nod before heading to the dining room. Aurora just watched her brother for a moment before lowering her head.

"Scorpius, Dad won't let that happen to them."

Scorpius just scoffed. "Please, you think Dad's priority is making sure Eve and Noah are cleared? Mum is more important and Ember... as they should be."

"I know, but-"

"Let's just drop it." He cut her off.

"I'm just saying-"

"JUST STOP!" he yelled, making her jump at the sound of him slamming his fist on the counter.

She just stared at him, her eyes welling with tears at his outburst. She could see he immediately regretted it and he let out a hard sigh.

"I'm sorry." He said softly before wrapping her up in a tight hug. "I just... I care a lot about Eve. I don't want to see her be punished for something she shouldn't be, and it sucks that I can't do anything about it."

"Scorpius... just stay hopeful. Look what we were able to do these past few months; everything we've accomplished. I think the Ministry is just being cautious and they will both be free to go." Aurora tried to reassure him.

"And Mum?"

"Mum will make her way back to us... I know she will."

"What about Ember? What if she..." he swallowed the lump of emotions that formed in his through. "What if she dies?"

Aurora laced her fingers with his before looking at him. "She won't... she's strong like Mum and Dad... like us."

He nodded at her words and tried with everything in him to believe what she was saying was true.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked as she appeared in the doorway.

"Waiting for you to finish setting the table." Aurora teased as she handed her some flatware and cups.

"Lucky me," Ellie mumbled as she went to walk away and then felt Aurora grab her arm and turn her back towards her.

"Ellie, don't mess with that." She said as she pointed to the bracelet around Ellie's wrist that they all wore that she was apparently trying to get off.

"But it itches and it's uncomfortable." Ellie snapped.

"It's a step up from the ones we had to wear around our necks." Riley's voice suddenly filled the kitchen. "Like a dog collar, only every hour a needle would shoot into our necks to keep us tamed." She added.

Everyone was silent; Ellie pulled her sleeve down over her bracelet and just walked past her into the dining room.

"Riley, how are you feeling?" Aurora asked as she watched her take a seat at the counter; her eyes traveling over Riley's burn marks on her hands and wrists.

Riley just shook her head, tears already welling in her eyes at Aurora's question. "I need to talk to Dad... or Mum. Only they will understand what I'm feeling." She quietly cried as she hugged her hands around herself.

Scorpius watched Aurora try to console their younger sister and the trauma she'd been through. He couldn't possibly expect his father to be right back to his old self again, especially with what was going on with his mum and Ember. He didn't think about the aftermath of everything and how it would all be... how he would be. He only thought about having his whole family back together again.

"Hey, listen Riley... I know Mum isn't here right now and Dad is... well, he's in a tough spot right now like you. Just know, even though we weren't there with you at that place... we are still here for you. You can cry, you can scream... I'll even let you hit me if you want." Scorpius teased, causing her to give a small laugh. "We just need to stick together, and we will all get through this, ok?"

He lifted her chin to look at him before she gave a small tearful nod.

"Good, now that table isn't going to set itself and I'm sure by now Ellie and Harper are fighting over who's sitting where so why don't you go be the deciding vote?"

"Pft, there's only like twenty seats to choose from." Riley scoffed before she rolled her eyes and left the kitchen.

As they all finally sat down around the table for dinner, the effects of everything that they had faced the past few months became more real to them. Their parent's seats remained empty and instead of Ava babbling in her highchair, she was upstairs fast asleep.

"So, when do you think we can go back to school?" Harper asked.

"Hopefully we'll know some more tomorrow," Scorpius answered her before he exchanged a quick look with Aurora.

"School? All I want is my bed for the next month." Ellie said.

Draco stood in the hallway outside of the dining room just listening to the light conversation his kids were in. He was so proud of them and their attempt to get things back to normal around the manor. He wanted to be there for them, but he could feel his emotions getting ready to erupt as tears stung his eyes at the sound of his children's voices. Something he didn't think he would ever realize he missed hearing; just them talking to each other made him want to break down right there in the hallway.

He wrapped his fingers around the stone in his pocket to see if it had grown any warmer. If maybe Ginny had been thinking about him, but it was as cold as he had ever felt it before, and it was killing him. He felt his lips beginning to tremble and he desperately tried to hold himself together. He let out a shaky breath and roughly rubbed his face to erase any traces of emotion before walking into the dining room.

Everyone fell silent at his entrance. Why did he feel like he had lost all confidence suddenly, as if his kids were judging his every move and if he would emotionally and mentally be strong enough for all of them through this? He didn't want to disappoint them, he already felt like he failed them with how things turned out and what they had to go through.

He took a seat at the table and watched Aurora go to serve him when he shook his head. "I'm not hungry, I just thought I'd sit with you guys."

"Dad... you don't have to-"

"I do." He cut Aurora off. "I'm sorry." He said in barely a whisper.

"For what?"

He got up so abruptly it made them all jump, and he headed to the foyer. "Scorpius, keep an eye on your sisters... I'll be back." He said before he slammed the front door and disappeared.

* * *

Draco quickly paced back and forth in front of the door before he stopped and stared at it. He was shaking at this point from how hard he fought to hold himself together. He gave a few quick knocks on the door finally and immediately regretted it as he took a few steps back. He felt something wet hit his face as he looked up at the night sky and felt the light rain start to fall.

"Uncle Draco?"

He looked at the young girl before him. "Rose, can you get your mum?" he managed to force out as his voice cracked a bit.

She gave a small nod before she turned to get her mother. It was only a few moments later when Hermione appeared at the front door.

"Draco? What's wrong?" she asked, her voice was soft and calming.

He just stared at her and he could tell she knew he wasn't in a good place.

"Y-You told m-me to t-talk to you, right?" he reminded her as his voice broke.

The sound of his emotions surfacing instantly brought tears to her eyes as she nodded at his question.

He lowered his head, ashamed of what a mess he was and how pathetic he must look to her. "I can't... I can't do this without her Hermione. I just...I- I can't... I..." he had finally lost the raging battle of emotions inside as they brought him to his knees, and he let everything out.

Hermione ran out to him and grabbed him into a hug and was surprised when she felt him latch onto her tightly and just sob. She hated to see him like this, and her tears freely fell as she felt the sadness and anger in the way his body shook in her arms. Her eyes wandered over to the front door where Ron watched them with a sad look on his face as he wrapped his arm around Rose. She was so thankful her family was safe, and it made her heart ache even more for Draco and Ginny because their family wasn't together. She managed to pull Draco inside and out of the rain with her into the house to have a proper talk with him.

Hermione did a simple drying spell and started a small fire before handing Draco a cup of tea she had just finished making. She sat on the couch beside him in silence as she watched him fall deep in thought.

"Were you able to see her earlier?"

He nodded as he stared into the fire. "She was confused... scared." He hung his head. "She asked if Arthur was ok."

They both fell silent again.

"Draco, I can't even imagine how you or Harry or Ginny must be feeling right now, and I feel so selfish that my family is safe and here with me and-"

"Stop." He cut her off before he turned to look at her. "You are a big reason why my kids are still alive and safe. I'm just... I'm so lost without Ginny by my side. I feel like I can't even be a good parent without her... I feel like I suddenly don't know what to say to them. Everything is a mess and what they've been through... what I've been through... and poor Riley." He shook his head at his lack of confidence.

"Listen Draco, the very fact that you're even thinking this way shows how much of an amazing father you are. They've missed you guys so badly and they just want you near them and to be open and honest with them. They are so strong, and they can handle more than you think. I've seen what these kids are capable of and you should be so proud of them. It's not wrong for you to lean on them a bit right now." She reached forward and placed her hand gently on his to make sure he was taking in her words. When she saw him look up at her with tears in his eyes she gave him a small smile. "Go home to them and just talk... that's what they need. Riley is going to be fine and I know Ember is going to wake up any day now and as for Ginny... I've arranged a meeting with Kingsley and some other members of the Ministry. I think we need to have a good talk with them and put an end to this mess."

"You think she'll find her way back?" he asked her as his eyes pleaded with her to say yes.

"I know she will."

He stared at her for a moment to see if her words were genuine and he quickly wiped the few tears that fell and put the tiniest of sneers on his face at his lack of emotional control. "Any word on Eve and Noah?" he asked, deciding to change his focus.

"A bit, Kingsley is on our side and even though he is temporarily being reinstated as Minister of Magic he is still trying to restore order around there. There is a lot of questions and concerns about releasing them, especially because they have powers and are being looked at as mentally unstable."

"Eve and Noah were tortured in that place, just like the rest of us. The only concern should be if it hasn't completely screwed them up for life." Draco spat.

He was angry that the Ministry was looking at Eve and Noah that way, yeah Noah was a bloody git and he hurt Ember, but he didn't deserve to sit in Azkaban and neither did Eve.

"The only way the Ministry will hold off on sending them to Azkaban until a proper trial or further questioning, is if they were under the eye of a Ministry official day and night," Hermione suggested as a possible temporary solution.

She saw Draco grow angrier and then she watched him suddenly look completely defeated. "Let's go to the Ministry tomorrow for a chat with Kingsley and Matthew and see what we can do. For now, you need to try and get some sleep and keep a level head tomorrow. Go home to your children and... just talk to them Draco."

She watched him let her words sink in before he gave a stiff nod and went to storm off.

"See you tomorrow... Malfoy." She attempted to drawl out before a playful smile tugged at her lips when he turned to look at her.

He gave her the slightest of smirks before he exaggerated the sneer on his face. "See ya, Granger."

She watched him apparate away before she shook her head at how far Draco Malfoy had come since she first met him.

* * *

She felt her soaked clothes sticking to her body as she sat up in bed and took in her surroundings. She cringed at the sharp pain that ran throughout her body before a loud hiss escaped her mouth as she felt herself boiling from the inside out. She swore at any moment she was about to erupt into a blazing inferno as she jumped out of bed and ran over to the small bathroom in her room.

Ginny looked into the mirror and tried to make herself out in the dark room as her own eyes pierced into herself. She watched two bright orange pupils staring back at her before she looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. She could feel her powers wanting to escape and they didn't like being retained; it was physically painful to keep them suppressed.

She ran over to her locked door and banged on it with her fist. "Hello?" she called out. "Hello!" she yelled louder as she continued to bang on the door with both fists.

She looked at the palms of her hands and could see what looked like fire beneath her skin begging to be set free. She took a few steps back when someone opened the door and let the light from the hallway shine in on her.

"Mrs. Malfoy, you're awake." Came Matthew's voice as Ginny narrowed her eyes to better make out his features.

"Matthew, where's Draco? I need him... where's Eve? I need her to help me. You need to take this bracelet off me." She begged of him as he took in her growing powers.

"Ginny... I'm afraid I can't do that right now. I can't get Draco and Eve is in holding still." He gently explained.

She just looked at him. "What? Are you serious?" she asked as she looked at him in disbelief before her expression turned angry. "I want to see my husband... now!" she demanded.

He saw her about to explode on him and he softened his tone in an attempt to show her he didn't have any ill intentions. "Ginny, I'm not keeping you from him or your children, in fact, I'm trying to keep them safe. You're in no condition to have that device taken off you until we can better understand what we're dealing with. You probably have no memory of what kind of state of mind you were in when the Ministry showed up at Adwell Labs."

Her angry expression faded when he mentioned the name Adwell.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

He cleared his throat before he locked eyes with her. "No."

She went to walk past him out of the room when he blocked the doorway.

"Move, I need to get to my children. I need to get to Ember."

She went to push past him when he gently grabbed her arms to guide her back into the room. She let out another hiss of pain as she felt the wave of heat course through her body and Matthew quickly removed his hands from her as her skin turned hot. He pulled his suit jacket off and used it to guide Ginny back over to her bed and sat down beside her.

"I need to see Eve, something's wrong." She growled out through clenched teeth.

"Ginny, I-"

"Matthew, please!" she begged him. "Do you really think Eve is anything like her father?"

He looked at her and all the heartache and pain that was in her eyes. He thought about the life Eve had in that lab with her father and how he wanted to help Eve and Noah out of there. Although his intentions to help Eve and Noah were sincere, his main focus was always getting Draco, Ginny, and Harry out and to protect their kids. His first priority was to make sure they were safe and before he released Eve and Noah he needed to know that they were innocent, especially after Jake's betrayal.

"I'll be right back." He said before getting up and leaving her room.

He quickly made his way downstairs to the holding cell that Eve and Noah were still in. Before he walked inside he rethought his decision again. The truth was that Matthew was a true friend to Arthur over the years and he knew all that his family had been through since he had known him. He wanted to help Ginny and Draco and that's what made him open the door and walk over to the cell.

"Eve... I need your assistance with something." He said as he walked over to unlock the cell door.

Eve and Noah quickly stood up and exchanged a quick look at Matthew's request.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Ginny, something is wrong with her... she thinks you can help."

Eve was surprised by Ginny's request but didn't ask any questions and let Matthew escort her out of the cell. Noah went to follow but Matthew closed the cell before he could get out.

"Sorry Kid, I just need her." He said to Noah with a small frown before he left the room.

Matthew walked through the halls with her as fast as he could before anyone would question his motives. The silence between them was awkward as Eve went back to the day Matthew suggested she was the spy after he was the one who helped her escape.

As if he was the one reading her mind he suddenly spoke up. "I'm sorry about what I said... back at the house." He said softly as they continued to walk throughout the halls.

She just looked at him for a few moments. "If you're sorry you would release my brother and I. You obviously still don't trust us or still think we have some other motive." She stated with a bit of snap.

They stopped outside of Ginny's room and he opened his mouth to say something but closed it before locking eyes with her. "I'm sorry if you feel like I've wronged you and your brother by being cautious... but I won't apologize for going the extra step to protect everyone else."

She broke her eye contact with him and looked at the floor. "So the world is divided into everyone else and then Noah and I?" she asked before she looked back up at him, her voice cracking a bit as his words hurt her even more than she already felt. "Thanks for the apology." She choked out before she opened the door that he had unlocked for her.

Eve didn't know why she felt so out of place and wanted to retreat to her cold dark room back at her father's lab where she felt she belonged. She didn't know why she ever thought she would fit into a world she hardly knew anything about or discovered for herself, but when she was around Draco and Ginny's family it made her feel the most human she ever had before. Her interactions with Scorpius especially made her feel like something more than just an experiment. She couldn't really blame Matthew for acting like he was towards her and Noah. He was right in his skepticism towards them after what Jake had done; it was still a shock even to her and she lived in the lab her whole life and knew nothing of Jake ever have been there.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a whimper across the room and saw Ginny sitting on her bed with her knees hugged to her chest. She could feel the rising temperature in the room as she walked further into it and took a seat in front of Ginny.

"Ginny?" she softly called.

She lifted her buried face from her folded arms and looked at her. "Eve... what's happening to me?" she cried.

Eve watched as Ginny held out both of her hands for her to look at and stared at her with her bright orange pupils. Eve slowly brought one of her hands a few inches above Ginny's palm and could feel the heat lightly burning her. She studied the burning flames that she knew to be lying beneath Ginny's skin wanting to be released. She couldn't help the wide smile that stretched across her face and looked up at Ginny.

"Do you realize just how exquisite you are?"

Ginny just stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"Your fire powers, they're back and they've overpowered all the others. This... this is amazing." She said with a bright smile as she looked at Ginny again and then looked at Matthew. "Take her bracelet off."

"What? That's not happening." He stated firmly.

"Eve, that's not a good idea," Ginny said.

She just looked at Ginny before she brought her hand up and cupped the side of her face. "Do you know how much I admire you? Your strength... your courage... I've seen what you are capable of. I can show you just how incredible you really are if you trust me."

Ginny's eyes didn't leave hers, the only thing she felt was fear of what would happen if she wasn't controlled.

"Matthew, the bracelet?" Eve asked again.

"I can't do that." He repeated.

Eve looked at him. "Fine, I was giving you a chance, but now you leave me no choice." She said before her eyes turned purple and the door behind Matthew slammed shut and locked.

He quickly tried to open it and then turned back to her with wide eyes. "How? Y-your bracelet?" he frantically stumbled to find his words as he watched her use her powers to remove the bracelet.

"My powers are a lot stronger than this crappy bracelet the Ministry has on us."

"But you've been down in a holding cell... you could've just... just-"

She looked at him. "Exactly, I could've, but I'm not the enemy." She firmly stated before looking at Ginny again. "You ready?"

Ginny quickly shook her head. "I'm not strong like you think. I can't..." she trailed off as she felt the burning pain intensify within her.

"Ginny, look at me."

Ginny lifted her tearstained face to Eve's.

"Think of your children... of Draco... they are what drive you. They are the reason that fire within you burns so wildly. My father tried to make you something you're not and these powers that you had... they didn't hold up and do you know why Ginny?"

Ginny quickly shook her head.

"It's because fire always wins in the end. Isn't that right?"

Ginny just looked at her.

"Right?"

Ginny let out an emotional breath before she nodded at her words.

"Show me." Eve softly said before she removed Ginny's bracelet and helped her off the bed. "You won't hurt anyone... I promise." She said as she let her powers surface and put up a shield of kinetic energy around them.

Ginny could feel her powers surface as soon as the bracelet came off and was surprised when the feeling was so familiar. She could feel her whole body relax and her mind seemed so peaceful at this moment as she watched the flames start to erupt down her arms and legs. The warm breeze of fire against her face calmed her nerves and slowly she could feel them taking over every part of her.

Once Ginny felt like she was in control she released even more of her powers as they begged to be freed. A wave of flames crashed down on the floor and ran up the walls all around them. Matthew quickly braced himself for the impact, but he watched the bright flames hit the protective barrier Eve had up in front of him. He watched the flames fill the entire room and a feeling of awe came over him as he watched them only grow bigger and brighter.

Eve could feel just how powerful Ginny's powers were as she let her powers absorb most of the damage her raging inferno would have caused. She watched the flames dance over her head as they completely filled the barriers she had formed. She could feel her body start to tremble as she tried to maintain her protective stance. She couldn't help the bright smile that stretched across her face as she watched Ginny glide around the room in all her glory as fire covered her from head to toe.

Soon Ginny's flames diminished, and she dropped to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She couldn't believe she had her powers back, but what was more unbelievable was that she felt in control of them. She could still feel her other powers deep down but nothing like she had before.

Eve knelt in front of her after removing the barrier around them. "Are you ok?"

Ginny nodded with an emotional smile before she looked at her. "Are you?" she asked taking in Eve's bloody nose and exhausted appearance.

She nodded with a small smile before wiping her nose off on the back of her hand. They both turned to Matthew who slowly approached them. Eve used her powers to secure her and Ginny's bracelets once more and walked back over to him.

"Don't worry. I won't try to run away or anything." She said with a glare before she turned back to Ginny. "You're amazing and I hope you will be with your family again soon." She said with more emotion in her voice than she intended.

Her eyes locked with Matthew's for a moment before she quickly looked away and led the way back to the holding cell.

* * *

Draco walked through the doors of the manor and stood in the foyer for a moment and took in the silence. He glanced over to the clock and saw it was a little past two in the morning as he went upstairs to check on Ava. He saw her bedroom door open already with a dim light on that was shining out into the hallway.

He went to walk in her room when he stopped to take in the scene before him; a smile stretching across his face at the sight of all his children asleep scattered about the room. He looked at Harper, Ellie and Riley snuggled together in a pile on one oversized couch and then his eyes wandered over to Scorpius and Aurora who had dozed off in the armchairs in Ava's room. He looked at Ava's little face resting on Scorpius' shoulder fast asleep.

He gently took her from Scorpius and laid her on his shoulder and held her close to him. He rested his nose on the top of her head and closed his eyes to take her in for a moment before he rocked her gently. He looked over at Scorpius and Aurora who had woken up and gave them a small nod to follow him out of the room before he placed Ava gently in her crib.

Draco quietly closed the bedroom door before he turned and looked at Scorpius and Aurora staring at him. He couldn't help but look down the long hallway he had just come from and thought back to the days he walked through these halls alone and broken and now they were filled with love and laughter from a family of his own.

"Can we talk?" he asked them.

They both nodded before Draco led the way downstairs to the kitchen and took a seat at the bar with them. He pulled out a bottle of Firewhisky and three shot glasses before filling them all a bit and pushing two towards Scorpius and Aurora. He threw his shot back before placing his glass down and filling it up again. Scorpius and Aurora exchanged a quick look before they both threw theirs back as well.

Aurora gave a nasty look at the taste of it and a small cough. "Geez, that's disgusting and burns like hell."

Scorpius just laughed at her lack of experience with liquor. "Stop pretending you've never drunk before."

"Not that... I'm a good girl." She said as she turned her nose up to him.

"Pft, yeah... why don't we tell Dad how you were burning crops with Potter at that party?" he teased as she slapped him hard on the arm.

Draco raised an eyebrow at his comment making Scorpius bring his fingers to his lips in a smoking motion.

"Shut up!" Aurora shouted as she punched him in the ribs causing him to let out a small hiss.

"You know, I'm still healing." He said through clenched teeth as he grabbed his side.

"Oops, I'm so sorry." She quickly regretted hitting him so hard.

Draco just stared at them both for a moment and then his eyes fell on Scorpius' ribs where he had broken a few of them. His heart sunk a bit to see any of his children in pain.

"Thank you." He quietly said to them.

"For what?" Aurora asked.

"For getting us out of there."

"Dad, we didn't really... the Ministry-"

"It doesn't matter... what you guys did for your mother and I... "

"You're our parents, of course we came for you. I'm just sorry it had to take all of this to happen for me to realize just how much you both mean to us." Aurora said, her voice cracking with emotion. "We were so scared you guys were dead." She choked out as she covered her mouth to stifle her cries.

Draco got up and pulled her into a tight hug; every time he hugged one of his kids it was like reality was hitting him all over again. He still had thoughts that at any moment he would wake up in that lab again.

"You guys were amazing." He said as he pulled back from the hug and looked down at Aurora. "And you Aurora..." he shook his head in disbelief at how grown up she really was. "I'm so proud of you guys."

He pulled Scorpius into a hug as well and held them both for a few moments. He found himself thinking a lot about where he came from and where he was now. How broken and alone he felt so long ago and his many attempts to end his life. How he hated the idea of living in a world in such a pathetic state and now here he was. He had kids of his own and was married to a woman he never thought in a million years he would love more than anything in this world. It made him miss Ginny that much more and his heart ached for her.

He took a seat back at the bar and poured another round of shots for them. "Here, the second one goes down easier." He said to Aurora as he thought back to the same thing he said to Hermione eighteen years ago when they shared a shot in this very same spot.

Aurora took the shot and winced in anticipation before relaxing a bit when she realized he was right. "Damn, that's so much better." She said in relief.

"Why don't you go get your sisters and head to bed?" Draco suggested when he saw her release a long yawn.

"Are you sure? Because I can stay-"

"It's fine," he said as he threw his shot back. "I got Scorpius here to keep me company. Go on."

She gave a small nod before getting ready to leave the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway and quickly walked back over to her father and gave him a tight hug. "I love you, Dad." She whispered.

Draco smiled at her words. "I love you too." He watched her leave the kitchen before his eyes fell on Scorpius; he knew there was something he had been wanting to ask him. "Go ahead... ask me."

Scorpius locked eyes with him for a moment before looking back down at the shot in his hand. "Why didn't you let me kill Jake?"

Draco just stared at him, it was like looking into the mirror and seeing his younger self. "That's not who we are... who you are. I know we've killed before, but that was to survive. Being in a position where its kill or be killed is one thing. Now I'm not saying Jake doesn't deserve to pay for what he's done, but I don't want you to live with something that you can't take back."

Scorpius let his words sink in and he tried to understand them, but he was still angry about Jake's betrayal. He couldn't help the sneer that crossed his face as he thought back to the event.

"And if you think about it... if you really wanted to kill Jake... you wouldn't have let me stop you. You would've done it anyway. When you're filled with that much anger and you have nothing but vengeance on your mind... nothing will stop you." Draco said, his eyes firmly on his son.

"But I did want to!" he loudly snapped. Then his face softened a bit when he thought back to the moment he almost ended Jake's life. "But... I just kept thinking about how I almost killed Noah and how I felt when I thought I had killed him." He looked back up at his father. "I didn't want to feel like that again."

Draco gave him a small smile. "Good." He watched Scorpius for a moment as he threw back the shot in his hand. "What happened with Raven?" he suddenly asked.

Scorpius scoffed at the question before sliding his glass over to his dad to pour him another shot. "She slept with Noah."

Draco practically choked on his shot and gave a hard cough. "Wow, did not expect that."

"Yeah, neither did I. The whole pregnancy thing wasn't even real, she made it all up because she's insecure and some other bullshit I don't want to talk about." He said with a sneer as he took his last shot and then rubbed his face roughly before burying it into his folded arms on the counter. "She slept with Noah to get back at me when I wanted us to take a break and Noah slept with her because..." he trailed off.

"Because?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

Scorpius just shook his head. "If Ember ever wakes up she could tell you more." He mumbled.

They both fell silent for a few moments.

"Tell me about Eve," Draco said.

"What about her?"

"How did you guys end up with her and Noah?"

"Matthew brought them to where we were hiding out. Some house that belonged to McGonagall's family, the one you and Mum have been to."

Draco just stared at him, his mind going back to the days when he was still fighting his feelings for Ginny and coming to terms with being a father. He just gave a small smile at the mention of the house.

"The Ministry isn't really going to see her as the enemy are they? If it wasn't for her and even the help of Noah, we wouldn't have been able to even step foot into that lab." Scorpius explained, his voice growing louder as he thought about the situation.

"I understand, but as you know I don't always have control over what the Ministry does."

"YES, YOU DO!" he yelled angrily.

Draco was a bit taken aback by his son's sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I guess I'm just used to you and Mum always fixing everything for us and I need to start thinking that maybe this isn't fixable." He said softly as he hung his head.

Scorpius' words hit Draco harder than he thought they would. He was always so in control and always seemed to have this superiority about him when anyone would approach him. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it when people were intimidated by his mere presence.

"Dad, you don't really think she and Noah are anything like their father... do you?" he asked as he watched his father get lost in his own thoughts.

"No, I knew Eve wasn't after the first few times I encountered her in the lab. As for Noah..." he paused for a moment and thought back to the day Noah was trying to escape from the lab. The terrified look on his face and the horrible condition he was in was something he wouldn't soon forget. He couldn't help but be able to relate to a lot of Noah's background. "No... I think that he is just a very lost and misled young man who has made a lot of fucked up choices."

They were both silent for a few moments; Draco thought of asking him about his relationship with Eve, if there was one at all, but he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that. His mind went back to Ginny and how his heart hurt to not have her here with him. As much as it helped to talk with Aurora and Scorpius for a bit, he couldn't help but feel himself fading into a dark space. Ginny was the light of his life and without her, he wasn't sure how to feel, how to function; he wasn't even sure if he could properly breathe on his own without her.

"It's getting late... we should turn in," Draco suggested as he quickly got up.

He gave Scorpius a quick pat on the back before leaving the kitchen in a hurry and making his way towards his bedroom. He went straight to the bathroom and closed the door and put a silencing charm up around the room before he let out this loud angry scream. He couldn't believe how broken he was without Ginny. He just looked at his pathetic self in the mirror and memories of his darker days flooded his mind. He thought how often he wished to have the strength to end his own misery and every time he failed. He didn't even know what to think anymore. Was Ginny ever going to be the same again? Would she ever have a straight mind and remember him and the life they've built together and the family they created? Would she always be living like some caged animal if she was never herself again? His mind was racing with the endless outcomes of all his questions and the future just seemed to turn darker. Everything good about him and everything good in his life was because of her. If she wasn't in his life then he would be nothing and it was a feeling he knew too well.

He leaned over the sink and splashed some water on his face; his eyes taking in one of the faded scars on his wrist. He ripped one of the bathroom drawers open and rummaged through it before slamming it closed and looking through another. When he didn't find what he was looking for he ripped open the door and frantically went to one of his bedside drawers and dug around for a few seconds before he finally found what he was looking for.

He held the small blade in his hand for a moment before sitting it on top of his wrist. His hands were trembling so much he could hardly hold the knife. He hoped he would be a stronger man and a better father than where he found himself at this moment. This was the only way he knew to cope with his pain without Ginny. His heavy breathing only intensified as he gently pressed the blade a bit against his skin. He knew this would solve nothing, but he knew somehow it would hurt a little less inside.

He went to drag the blade hard across his skin when something made him stop. His attention went to the warm sensation coming from his pocket. He quickly dropped the blade and reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the stone. The heat it was emitting was so great he could hardly stand to hold it in his palm. As much as the burning sensation was stinging his skin, he somehow found comfort in it and released this emotional breath he had been holding in.

He wrapped his fingers tighter around the stone and held it close to him before throwing the blade back in the drawer and slamming it closed. He just sat down on the edge of his bed and let the warmth of the stone calm him down. It was as if he lost sight of reality for a few moments and he was brought back to it. How could he ever go back to such a way? He thought of his children and how he felt so selfish to make such a careless decision. His children were these beautiful creations he and Ginny made and if failed them then he would be failing Ginny. His mind went back to the conversation he had with Hermione earlier and held onto those words as the warmth of the stone gave Draco the hope he needed.

* * *

She felt a warmness on her face that made her open her eyes. She quickly brought her hand up to keep the sun out of her face. She blinked a few times before she realized she was standing under a tree next to the lake at Hogwarts.

"Here you are... a freshly baked handful of butterbeer cookies." Said a voice. "And they weren't easy to sneak out of the kitchen either."

She went to respond when someone else did before she could and was surprised to see it was herself

"Aww, how sweet, but you lost that game of Quidditch we had so you were kind of forced to get these. So, it's not as sweet as it seems now is it?" a younger Ember answered as she patted the spot beside her on the blanket for Noah to take a seat.

"In my defense, it was not an even match, both of your parents played Quidditch AND you even have a Quidditch pitch at home so you've had a lot more practice than I ever have."

"Oh please, don't start with that again. You're just mad because you lost to a girl." She teased him before lightly pushing him.

"Can I have one?" he asked as he went to grab a cookie.

"Hell no," Ember said through a mouthful of cookie as she used her arm to block him from grabbing one.

"I want a cookie." He demanded.

"Pft, well you're not getting one." She continued to tease him as she lightly moaned at the taste of the second cookie she bit into.

He just shook his head with a slight smirk. "Ember, I want a cookie." He said more seriously this time.

She just laughed at his tone before she gave him the same serious look. "Noah... no," she said before he quickly reached over to the handful she had and went to forcefully take one as she continued to fight him off.

He pushed her back so that she lost her balance from her sitting position and tried to sit back up when she felt him poke her side making her giggle and drop two of her cookies.

"Stop, they'll get ruined." She laughed. "You're going to squish them!" she yelled out through her laughter.

"Good, I'll still eat them." He chuckled as he finally grabbed the two that fell and quickly popped one in his mouth before Ember could grab it back.

"Now you owe me another cookie." She stated through the rest of her giggles as they finally subsided.

He just stared at her as the evening sun lit up her fiery strands. When she looked up at him and her silver eyes sparkled as she gave him a wide smile he knew he felt something more for her.

"Uh, Ember... do you think I could... take you out sometime?" he asked her as he looked down at the other cookie in his hand.

"Like on a date? You don't think that would be weird? We've been friends for so long?" she said casually as she took another bite of one of the few cookies she had left.

He looked back up at her as she stared out at the lake and took in the view. He swallowed the lump in his throat before looking back down. "Wouldn't that make it better?" he suggested.

She turned to him with a wide grin. "I suppose we could try it." She said playfully before willingly handing him over her last cookie.

Ember watched the younger form of herself and Noah fade from few and she suddenly felt very dizzy like she was falling. She tightly shut her eyes and felt herself hit something soft. The sound of screaming in the distance made Ember open her eyes and take in the dimly lit room she was in. She sat up and took in her surroundings before realizing she was in one of the rooms of Adwell labs. She quickly made her way to the door and soon realized it was left open and then the sound of screaming reached her ears again.

"Hello?" she called out down the hallway.

She took a few steps towards the screams which now seemed to turn to painful cries and whimpers. She could tell they belonged to a man as she walked closer to the sound.

"Hello?" she called again before she stopped outside of a room with a large glass window.

She saw numerous people gathered around an operating table, one of them she could see was Adwell. She didn't know what was happening to the person on the table, but she knew that's where the screams were coming from.

"Hey! Stop!" she called out as she slammed her hand on the glass window.

Nobody even looked her way. It was only when Adwell walked over to get a tool off of the counter that she got a good look at who was on the table.

"Noah?" she whispered to herself.

She quickly took a step back when his head fell to the side and looked right at her. "Please help me!" he yelled to her.

She was confused, could Adwell see her and if so why wasn't anyone listening to her. She slammed her hand on the glass again. "Hey! Stop! Leave him alone!" she yelled a bit louder this time.

She watched Adwell grab and an electrical saw and turn it on before walking back over to Noah.

"STOP! STOP IT! HEY!" Ember screamed as she pounded as hard she could to try and get their attention.

The look Noah gave her was gut-wrenching as she saw the saw come down and then suddenly everything went black and Noah's screams filled her ears. She covered her own ears at the sound of them and tightly shut her eyes before slowly uncovering them and peeking her eyes open. All she could see was white all around her until her eyes fell on someone across the way on the floor. She went to take a step towards them when she heard someone talking, almost as if there was a conversation going on, but she couldn't see between who. It filled the air around her, and it took her a moment to realize it was her and Jake talking. In fact, it wasn't a conversation at all, but a very vulnerable moment she had shared with him replaying all around her.

She went to turn back to the person on the floor across the way and slammed right into Jake. Her body went rigid as he pulled her to him and gently hugged her.

"I love you Ember, I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me." He softly begged in her ear as he held her in his arms.

She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back far enough to look at his face. Her eyes were wide, was this really happening? She just stared into his eyes, his loving eyes that she trusted this whole time. After a minute she started to shake her head and untangled herself from his grip.

"No, no you're not real." Her eyes traveled over his shoulder to the person on the floor and she went to walk over to them when Jake grabbed her wrist.

"Please don't go. I've changed, I know you love me Ember... I know you do." He begged her, his tone genuine and soft.

She turned to the other person and realized it was Noah and he was hurt. She watched a puddle of blood grow bigger and bigger from where he was laying as it traveled closer to her. She went to run to his side to see if he was ok, but Jake's grip tightened around her wrist as he yanked her back to him.

"Ember, that's the wrong decision." He snapped.

She felt her heart start to race and then felt herself grow incredibly weak suddenly and she collapsed to her knees. She felt her breathing become labored and she grabbed her side where she felt her clothes soaked with something warm. She looked down at her hand and saw them covered in blood. She tried to stand but her leg was also bleeding and after a few more attempts she gave up.

Jake squatted down in front of her and lifted her face to look at him. He grabbed her bloody hands in his and gave them a light squeeze.

"Can you forgive me?"

"N-No." she choked out as she ripped her hands from his and turned to look at Noah. She crawled over to him and could hardly stand to see the horrid state he was in. "Noah?" she called to him.

She watched him sit up suddenly and look at her, blood dripping down his face from the wound on his head.

"It's too late for me." He said. "I deserve this."

She just stared at him as blood just continued to pour down his face and soak his clothes. She suddenly jumped back when flames erupted all around her, Noah and Jake and she was stuck inside this fiery circle with them. She tried to control the flames, but she had no powers.

"Ember, it's ok. Come to me, I promise I will never hurt you again." Jake said as he held out his hand to her.

She quickly shook her head and then looked at Noah once more. She went to try to make her way over to him again but stopped when she saw him look at her with these big yellow eyes and suddenly lunge at her. The sound of a loud howl filled her ears before her eyes flew open and she was staring at the ceiling of her room at St. Mungo's.

She felt a warm tear slide down the side of her face as she started to try and take in everything that she had just seen and realized what her reality actually was. She hardly had time to comprehend any of it before she fell unconscious once more.

* * *

"Dad?" Harper gave him a hard shake again. "Hey Dad, wake up."

Draco cracked his eyes a bit to see a pair of hazel eyes staring back at him.

"Scorpius and Aurora said to wake you up." She explained before she took a seat on the bed beside his sprawled-out body.

His attention went from her to the warming sensation in the palm of his hand. He saw he was still holding the stone from last night and it was just as hot as it was the previous night. He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips as he hoped it meant Ginny's mind was back to normal.

"Are you coming?" She asked again as she got back off the bed and headed to the door.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a few." He said softly before getting a glimpse of himself in the mirror across the room. "Bloody hell Draco, pull yourself together mate." He mumbled as he rubbed his face and then headed to the bathroom for a shower and shave.

Afterward, he headed down to the dining room where he heard the sound of multiple loud conversations taking place. He smirked at the noise as it made everything seem normal again as his kid's bickering took place. He walked into the room while adjusting one of his cufflinks and looked up as the room grew quiet.

"Whoa Dad, looking good this morning," Harper stated.

"There's the Draco Malfoy we all know and love." Came Hermione's voice from down the table.

He locked eyes with her for a quick moment before shaking his head. "I just want to get to the Ministry and try to keep a level head." He said as he took a seat at the table, his gaze falling on Riley down at the opposite end.

She had her head down and was quietly pushing her breakfast around her plate.

"I heard from Harry this morning; we should stop at St. Mungo's first," Hermione said softly.

Draco's eyes snapped up at her. "Why, what happened? Is Ember-"

"Everything is fine." She quickly cut him off as he was halfway out of his seat. "She was in and out of it all night. Every time she would wake up though she was asking for you."

She hardly finished her sentence before he was on his feet. "I'll meet you at the Ministry." He said to her before he apparated to St. Mungo's.

Scorpius wanted to follow him, but he stopped himself, he was a bit hurt by the fact that Ember wasn't asking for him. He had to remind himself of what she had been through and how she must be feeling. He thought back to after they had gotten back to the Ministry how badly all he wanted was his parents.

He felt his aunt place a comforting hand on his arm as he got lost in his thoughts.

* * *

Draco raced through the halls of St. Mungo's as he made his way to Ember's room. He hated that he wasn't by her side when she woke up. He was about to head up to the next floor when he caught sight of something that made his blood boil. He took a few steps back and looked down one of the side halls to see Jack Adwell being transported back into his hospital room. He appeared to be awake but didn't look as stable as Draco thought he would be.

He didn't care what condition he was in; all he knew was that he wasn't dead, and Draco wanted to make it so. He went to take a step towards his room when he felt someone grab his arm firmly.

"Don't."

Draco turned and was surprised to see Luna standing there. "Luna? Why not?" he said with a slight sneer.

She gently released her grip on his arm and shook her head a bit before lowering it. "I don't know. I just don't think that's where you need to be right now." She said before looking back up at him.

He saw her eyes were a bit puffy as he studied her expression for a moment. "How's James?"

She started to nod. "He's getting better. There were a few scares, but he pulled through." She said the last part with a tearful smile before quickly wiping them away.

Draco knew exactly how she felt as his mind went to Ember. Luna was right, he needed to get to Ember and worry about Adwell after. He had to stop letting his anger get in the way of doing what was right. He went to walk off towards Ember's room when he stopped and put his hand on Luna's shoulder.

"I'm glad James is alright; he'll be out of here in no time." He said with a small smile.

She nodded at his words before he continued his path towards his daughter's room. Draco neared her room and he wasn't sure why, but he felt his stomach drop. It was always difficult to see any of his kids in any kind of pain, but he remembered when he first saw Ember in that hospital bed and how awful she looked. He wished Ginny was by his side right now as he wondered if his support would be enough for Ember.

He was just about to enter the room when a MediWizard walked over to him.

"Mr. Malfoy? I just wanted to go over some things with you." She said as he nodded for her to continue. "As you know, Ember's injuries were extremely challenging to heal and while she is expected to make a full recovery we still have a few issues prolonging the process."

"Issues? Like what?" he snapped.

The look on his face made the nurse take a small step back. "Just a small infection, we've already started her on every potion to speed up the healing process but magic only gets us so far."

"Infection? How? Aren't you guys supposed to be making sure that kind of shit is prevented?" he angrily ranted on.

The nurse took a deep breath and then gave him a firm stare. "Mr. Malfoy, you do realize the condition in which your daughter was brought to us in? We've worked very hard to save her life and we don't plan on that changing. She is already fighting through it, she's just not as alert as we would like her to be right now. She's been running a high fever and is still in a lot of pain." She paused for a moment to let Draco take everything in. "She is going to be fine; she just needs to get through a few more obstacles. Go ahead inside, she's asked for you the past few times she's woken up."

Draco just looked at her, he was angry at the situation not at her. She was right, they did save Ember's life, but he didn't expect Ember to still be in such danger. He just assumed everything would be ok again... well he hoped it would.

He finally turned his attention back to the door before him and opened it up; his eyes immediately falling on Ember. He closed the door and just stood there for a moment and stared at her. Every step he took towards her bed his heart sank a little more at the sight of her. She looked worse than when he saw her yesterday, although he assumed it was the bruising and swelling that made it seem much worse than the nurse claimed her to be.

"Ember?" he softly called to her as he sat down on the side of her bed and gently took her hand in his.

He was surprised when she opened her eyes at the sound of her name and slowly turned to him. Once her eyes took him in she closed them tightly in an attempt to keep her tears in, but Draco watched them slide down her cheeks. He felt her grip his hand tightly as her lips started to tremble with emotion.

He reached forward and pressed his lips to her forehead before leaning his against hers. "It's ok... it's going to be ok. I'm here now." He whispered to her.

He felt her warm breath hit him as she released this emotional gasp and then felt her turn her head away from him.

"Ember? Look at me." He softly said.

She squeezed her eyes shut once more and shook her head; she felt ashamed and embarrassed after Jake's betrayal.

Draco could tell she couldn't bring herself to look at him so he got up and sat beside her instead and wrapped his arm around her. He felt her entire body go from being stiff and rigid to completely melting in his arms and started to sob into his chest.

"P-Please don't let me go." She cried as she latched onto him.

Draco felt his eyes stinging with tears as she cried. His mind going back to how careless he was last night and how much his kids needed him during this difficult time. If anyone should feel ashamed it was him and how he had been acting.

His eyes traveled down to her bandaged leg and the sling her arm was in. He saw the bandages on the wound by her stomach soaked through with blood. Then he took in the bruising and swelling again across her chest and neck, her cut up face and her one eye swollen shut. She had broken ribs, a broken collarbone and other various cuts and scrapes he lost count of. He could see her sweating out a fever as her body was burning up in his arms and her skin was clammy against his.

She finally picked her head up and laid it back with her eyes closed as the constant pain she felt was taking a toll on her. Draco just studied her face and the dark circles under her eyes and pale complexion. He couldn't help but think about all those years ago when Ginny laid in his bed at the Manor dying from a poisonous arrow. Looking at Ember was like staring into the past for him and he felt the same fear now about losing his daughter that he did that same day he thought he would lose Ginny.

"Wh... where is he?" she suddenly asked, her eyes still closed.

"Who?"

She finally opened them and locked eyes with him; her silver eyes filled with anger and sadness. "Jake." She said through clenched teeth.

Draco was quiet for a moment. "He's still in one of the holding cells at the Ministry... Noah and Eve are being held as well."

He watched her squeeze her eyes shut again as fresh tears spilled down her face. "I dreamed... I dreamed of..." She couldn't finish before she broke down again and quickly shook her head. "It doesn't matter... it doesn't matter anymore." She said in barely a whisper. "Please take me home... I just want to go home." She choked out.

He gently grabbed her face and wiped her tears away with his thumbs before placing another kiss on her forehead. "Soon... you'll be home soon."

 **A/N: Your thoughts? I know you wanted more to happen with Adwell in this chapter but I really wanted to focus on the aftermath they were all facing. There is probably only 1 chapter left and then an epilogue I'll be writing. Can't believe it is almost over.**

 **If you haven't already joined my Facebook group you could find the link on my profile page. On there I post chapter previews and updates on my current stories and anything that might be coming up in the future.**

 **Thanks for reading xoxo**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: So sorry this chapter took so long, as you all know things have been crazy. There will be one more chapter after this and then an Epilogue. I can't believe this story will be coming to an end.**

 **I do want to take a moment and just thank everyone who has commented and supported me throughout this story. It means so much to me, more than any of you know! So thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

"Is everything ok? When you never showed up I thought something happened with Ember." Hermione explained as she met Draco halfway down the hall of the Ministry.

"Sorry, Ember needed me." He said, shooting her a quick look.

She nodded that she understood and then watched Draco's eyes travel over to the room behind her to see Scorpius, Aurora, Ellie, and Riley sitting down. "They wanted to come and as you know it's not easy to talk them out of things."

"Can we take these fuckin things off yet?" he asked as he rubbed his wrist where his bracelet sat. "Or has nothing changed, and we can continue to live like felons?" he drawled.

"Dad, how's Ember?" Scorpius asked, not caring to interrupt his conversation with his aunt.

Draco's eyes fell on the concerned look on his son's face and walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's..." he paused.

"What?"

Draco couldn't stop thinking how awful she looked and how she was not in a good mental state right now. "She's fighting off a bit of an infection right now but she's going to pull through."

Scorpius just looked at him and gave a small nod.

"It's everything else I'm not sure how she'll handle." He said softly, lowering his head a bit.

Scorpius let out a long sigh.

"She'll be fine," Draco added at the sound of his son's uncertainty. He gave Scorpius a hard pat on his shoulder before turning back to Hermione. "So, any news?"

"Kingsley was able to get everyone on board to have a small meeting... well more like a small hearing; everyone has a lot of questions and concerns. It won't be for a few days though and until then I think Eve and Noah might have to sit in Azkaban." She explained.

"Fuck that!" Scorpius shouted. "This is insane! Does anyone around this fuckin place have a brain!"

Draco put his hand up to stop Scorpius from completely blowing up. "Scorpius let me handle this. Take your sisters and head home."

"But Dad-"

"I SAID... take your sisters and head home... now." He said firmly giving his son a stern look.

Scorpius wanted to fight him further but he had forgotten how intimidating his father could be and so he stayed quiet and did as he was told.

Draco turned back to Hermione and saw her give Scorpius a sad look before he headed out with his sisters. "I just don't want him to say something that's going to put us in any more trouble. I feel like they're looking for any reason to lock us all up." Draco said with a sneer.

"You couldn't be further from the truth." Came a voice from behind them.

Draco turned to see Matthew. "Oh yeah? Then take these fuckin shackles off us." He spat as he held up the device around his wrist.

Matthew stared at him for a moment. "Alright." He said before taking his wand out and removing the bracelet. "Now that your bracelet is off you'll be able to remove the others. I'm sure I don't have to caution you on what you shouldn't do while we are still figuring this all out?"

"You mean have me and my family go around terrorizing the world with our powers? Aw, well now you went and ruined my weekend plans." Draco drawled. "Why the sudden change?"

"Come with me. It will be a few before the Minister can see you both."

Hermione and Draco exchanged a quick look before following Matthew. They walked down to the floor below and went down the same hallway Draco knew they were keeping Ginny and he hoped that's where Matthew was taking them. His heart started racing when they stopped outside of her room and Draco wasn't sure how to feel. He was hopeful she was at least a little saner since he felt the stone still warm since last night, but he was also afraid if she was sane how long would it last.

Hermione watched Draco just stare at the doorknob in front of him before she cleared her throat. "Um, I'm going to go down and talk to Eve and Noah." She said softly, giving Draco a slight nudge as Matthew escorted her down to the holding cells.

Draco put his hand on the doorknob and let out a shaky breath before opening the door. His eyes immediately fell on her across the room as she turned to him.

"Draco?" she choked out in disbelief before running to him.

Draco was so shocked at how normal she looked he couldn't even comprehend that she had called his name. She looked like nothing had ever happened, her eyes back to their honey brown color and her fiery hair was as vibrant as he had ever seen it before. She looked the most beautiful he thought he had ever seen her and as soon as her arms wrapped around him he snapped out of it.

He hugged her so tightly she was hardly able to keep her feet on the floor as he buried his face deep into her hair. The feel of her body against his and her scent that he hungrily took in made him suddenly start to fall apart. He missed her so much, he wasn't sure if he would ever have his Ginny back and he didn't want to ever let her go. Her arms around him made everything ok, it made everything they had gone through easier to deal with. He immediately found strength within the few seconds she had her arms around him.

He pulled back a bit to look at her face. "I missed you so much." His voice breaking as he watched a tear slide down her face.

Ginny's heart just broke when she saw Draco's eyes fill with tears and pull her to him again. She didn't think he would ever let her go with how tight of a grip he had on her. She could feel all the hurt and pain he was holding in as he broke down in her arms. It was very rare for her to see Draco so emotional and every time he showed his vulnerability to her it just made her love him so much more.

After a few minutes of just holding her, she finally felt him pull back once more and just stare into her eyes. It was only minutes ago that she wondered if everything would still be the same between her and Draco after everything that happened. She could see though that in the way he looked at her that he loved her more than ever and it gave her the same butterflies in her stomach that she felt eighteen years ago.

She watched his eyes travel down to her lips and she swore her heart stopped. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since he kissed her, and she forgot just how much her body ached for his touch now that she was in his arms. Her breath caught in her throat when he cupped her face with both hands; one of his thumbs wiping a stray tear from her face and the other running over one of her lips. She swore she would melt right then and there if he didn't kiss her and just as she felt her knees grow weak he pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers.

She expected Draco's kiss to be hard and fast, but it was soft and sweet and one of the most passionate kisses she received from him. Draco must have picked up on her wobbly legs as he moved one of his hands to the small of her back and pushed her closer to him. Everything seemed better now, all doubt and all fear she had of not knowing what her future held with Draco and her family was gone as he kissed her.

She felt his hand slide from the small of her back to the front of her stomach and pulled back from the kiss to rest his forehead against hers. He slipped his hand under her shirt and rest it softly over the small bump of their unborn child.

"Please tell me you're back for good. It scares me how I don't know how to live without you." He said to her.

She nodded against his head. "I hope so. I look and feel normal again... I mean..." she trailed off and pulled back from him a bit. "I feel like those powers are gone but I then sometimes I think they may just be somewhere deep down."

She went on to tell Draco about last night when Eve came to her room. She watched his eyes light up when she described how in control of her own powers she was. Draco also told her about Ember and the condition she was in right now. She hated that she wasn't by her daughter's side and she hoped that today was the day the Ministry would see that none of them were a threat and that she could go home to her family.

"Draco... Ginny?" came Hermione's voice from the doorway after she gave a small knock. "Kingsley is ready to talk with us now."

Draco took Ginny's hand and pulled her along with him, shooting Matthew a quick glare before he could object to her coming. His hand remained laced with hers the entire way to Kingsley's office, afraid that she would fade from his grasp at any moment. He walked into the office and saw Harry and Luna there already.

"Ginny?" Harry said in surprise when she walked into the room and immediately hugged her tightly.

"Harry, how's James?" she asked as she became teary-eyed by the question.

Harry just nodded. "Better, a lot better." He said with a small smile.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, please have a seat," Kingsley said as he took a seat behind his desk.

Draco took in the few other Ministry officials in the room who he assumed were also going to have a say so in any of the decisions being made today as well as the answers to the many questions he had.

"When can Ginny come home? She's not a danger anymore." Draco stated firmly.

"Listen, I know there's a lot of tension with everything going on, but-"

"But nothing." Draco cut Kingsley off. "You know the Ministry thinks that we're the ones who are dangerous or can't be trusted when really it's the Ministry who can't be trusted."

He heard a few of the officials want to object or was offended by his comment, but he didn't care and kept talking.

"I didn't see anyone complaining eighteen years ago when we stopped my father using our powers. Which by the way, you're welcome, and what about Harry? I mean I get if the Ministry doesn't trust me, but Harry? He already stopped Voldemort, then helped end my father and now? What about Ginny? What about Hermione? These are people that have done nothing but help save the Wizarding world and this is the Ministry's way of repaying them? It's the Ministry that can't be trusted. Every time things have gone south in the Wizarding world; the Ministry is the first place to turn against us. They've never had our backs."

"That's not true, it was the Ministry who got you out of Adwell labs." Said one of the men in the room.

"Bullshit, my kids got us out of there. Do you think you would have had any chance of getting into Adwell Labs if our children didn't fight their way to the bottom of that hellhole and get us to the top? You wouldn't have made it past the first floor." Draco spat.

"And Eve and Noah helped... they are the main reason they were even able to make it as far as they did. You guys stepped in last minute after a whole lot of convincing on Neville's part." Harry chimed in. "If you all weren't so blind in the first place and saw through Beckett or Adwell like the rest of us did then a lot of this could have been avoided."

"And let's not forget that there were Ministry officials that stood by Adwell this whole time and helped hunt down and try to kill our children," Ginny added. "When will the Ministry stick up for us for once?"

The room fell silent and then there was a lot of whispering and mumbled words exchanged amongst the officials in the room. Kingsley couldn't help the small smirk that tugged at his lips at the argument the group in front him gave. He leaned into the group of men next to him and said something that none of them could make out.

"Are you sure about that Minister?" asked one of the men.

Kingsley paused and looked at Draco and then to Harry and the rest of them. "Yes."

"Very well, I will go ahead and trust you on this matter then." One of the men said.

Kingsley paused once more before looking at Draco and Ginny again and then spoke. "I will allow Mrs. Malfoy to return home today, however, as a precaution, she is to report here daily to our Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and see someone who could monitor her powers."

Draco went to object to that when he felt Hermione tug his sleeve to keep quiet.

Kingsley picked up on his disapproval of the idea. "I know its not ideal, but for now I think Ginny should be home with her family rather than stuck here at the Ministry, but that is the only way I will approve it until we know for certain her powers are controlled. Can you agree to that?"

"Yes," Ginny said right away, making Draco shoot her a surprised look. She turned to face him and took his hands in hers. "Draco, I know things seem normal right now, but I don't want to hurt anybody and if I can go home and be with you and the kids and just come here for monitoring... I'm perfectly ok with that."

Draco wasn't sure why, but he looked at Hermione for approval on the matter and when she gave him a small smile and nodded he felt more comfortable with the idea.

"Fine." He said through clenched teeth.

"Wonderful."

"Do I dare ask if we still have a job with the Ministry?" Harry asked, motioning to himself, Draco and Hermione.

"Of course. The sooner you all feel you can return the better." Kingsley said.

"Now what about Eve and Noah? I don't want them going to Azkaban until the hearing." Draco stated.

"Eve and Noah need to be under the watch of a Ministry official and-"

"Perfect, I still work here, they can stay with me until the hearing." Draco quickly cut Matthew off.

Everyone in the room looked at him, even Harry and Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy, I don't think you've thought this through," Matthew suggested.

"I have, there's nothing to think about. I know who they are and I know what they've done... I will keep watch over them until the hearing."

Kingsley got up and walked over to Draco and Ginny and leaned in between them. "Are you both sure about this? Having everyone under the same roof?"

Ginny met Draco's gaze and gave him a small smile. "Yes, we're sure." She said.

"And if there are any issues they can stay with Luna and me," Harry said.

"Ron and I as well," Hermione added.

Kingsley took a few steps back from the group of them and thought for a moment about the idea. After a few seconds, he started to slowly nod. "Alright, I will allow this, however, Matthew will also drop by for a quick check-in." He turned back to Matthew and the other Ministry officials. "You're all excused. I need a private word with the rest of them." He said as he motioned for them to leave his office.

Once Kingsley was the only one left in the room with them he sat back down behind his desk. "Draco... Ginny, you must make sure everyone is on their best behavior. I wouldn't even use any sort of powers until this whole mess is behind us. I have been by your side from day one, but I need to keep the other officials calm. So, if playing it safe is what's going to keep you both together and Noah and Eve out of Azkaban for the time being then this is the path we will take. Please just be careful, the Ministry is looking for anything to put those two behind bars with their father."

They both nodded before finally leaving his office.

* * *

Noah kept pacing around the small cell for the last thirty minutes since they had been informed they were being sent to Azkaban until the hearing. He wasn't necessarily worried himself about being sent there, he felt whatever horror awaited would be too good for him. It was Eve he worried about more because he knew how much of the world she hadn't been exposed to. He glanced over to her sitting in the corner on the floor and he thought about how much he actually cared for her.

He kept scratching his wrist where the bracelet he wore kept digging into his skin. He never thought he'd have to wear something like this. He stuck his hand in his pocket in an attempt to leave it alone and felt his fingers graze something.

"Ah, I almost forgot." He said out loud as he walked over to Eve and squatted down in front of her. "I managed to snatch this up amongst the chaos at the lab." He explained as he pulled out the necklace Scorpius made for her.

Her eyes fell on the small stone hanging at the end and a small smile crossed her lips before she took it from him. "Thank you." She softly spoke as her voice started to break.

He took a seat beside her and felt like he should try to say something encouraging to her. "Listen-"

"Tell me about our mother." She suddenly said.

He just looked at her. "What?"

"Our mother... can you tell me about her?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

He quickly shifted his eyes to the floor. "No."

"No? Why not?"

He just shook his head. "Because... I barely knew her."

Eve felt her heart sink at his words.

"Father always kept her at the lab, occasionally I would see her at father's office at the Ministry, once in a while at home even, but it was always a quick encounter. I don't think I've ever even hugged her. Looking back now it was obvious that Father didn't want her to have a relationship with us."

Eve just hung her head.

"Eve, I never knew about you... I didn't even know about Crystal until a few years ago and I only knew about Lucy being our sister and dying at the lab a few months ago. I..." he trailed off making her look back up at him.

"You don't have to explain Noah, I'm sure there was a lot of things you were in the dark about. Our father is good at putting up quite the facade."

Even with the bracelet on, Eve could hear and feel everything her brother thought and felt... it was a very dark and lonely feeling. He must have picked up on her reading him because he looked over at her and shook his head.

"I really did think that what he was doing was great. That he was helping witches and wizards like Draco and Ginny develop their powers and understand them. That's why I thought I could help Ember... and it just ended up being the biggest mistake I ever made. Once I mentioned Ember's powers to Father is when things started to change. I mean, I guess nothing really changed... I just became exposed to a lot more and with that came... he just wanted me to be..."

He trailed off once more, unable to find the right words. He wasn't always a stuck-up rich kid but when he knew his father had big plans for him and his future he felt he had a part to play. He wasn't trying to defend his behavior or say that none of it was real because after a while of being an asshole it started to come naturally. He felt pressure from his father to follow on a certain path and he thought that was what he wanted too, but after his first visit to Adwell labs and his father showing him some of the experiments he was working on, everything changed.

He would also be lying If he said he wasn't the least bit afraid that his father would turn to him for his next experiment if he didn't follow through on the task he was given. At the time that was to get Ember to the lab but his feelings for her had to be buried deep down for him to do anything like that. He just kept thinking if his father was evil enough to experiment on his mother and end up killing her, then turning to him as his next guinea pig was more than likely. It was fear that made it so easy for him to turn cold and in the end, he ended up under his father's knife anyway.

"Alright you two, we'll be transporting you to Azkaban in just a few." Said one of the Aurors as he flipped through one of their files in his hand.

Eve released a shaky breath before getting up. "It's hopefully just for a few days right?" she asked Noah.

He gave her a sad look before giving a small nod.

"Actually; I'll be taking those files, Mr. Reed."

Eve and Noah snapped their heads up to see Draco and Harry walking into the room. It was quite different seeing Draco more in his Malfoy state than being trapped inside some glass box. It made them both feel quite small, especially Eve and she felt very much out of place. As for Noah, he had no idea where he stood with anyone at this moment. The only thing he felt he could do was just accept whatever fate awaited him.

"Mr. Malfoy... Mr. Potter, these two are to be sent to Azkaban until-"

"The hearing, yes, but Kingsley has agreed to leave them out of prison as long as they're under the watch of a Ministry official," Draco explained, his eyes falling on Eve and Noah.

"Is it Matthew?" Eve asked.

"No... you'll both be staying with me." He said as he gauged their reactions.

He could see they were both relieved, but he also saw the hesitancy on their faces. There was a lot of tension and unspoken words between a lot of them, but at the end of the day, he knew neither of them deserved to sit in Azkaban.

* * *

"MUM!"

Ginny felt Harper slam into her so hard she almost fell over as she tightly hugged her. It wasn't long before she found herself surrounded by the embrace of her children and drenched in her own tears. It felt like years since she had been home and able to hug and kiss her kids. She didn't want to let any of them go, she swore she could hold them all like this forever if they would let her. Her eyes met Draco's through the crowd of arms around her and she smiled back at him. There was a lot to still sort through, but she was overcome with joy right now that none of that seemed to matter.

"You came home just in time, Aurora said she was making dinner again." Harper teased as she pretended to hurl at the thought of her cooking.

"Hey!" Aurora snapped. "It's not that bad."

Ginny just gave a soft giggle. "How about I get settled in and then we'll make a big dinner together?"

Harper gave a quick nod at the offer.

"I can't believe she's home," Draco stated as he watched her across the room, before looking at Scorpius standing beside him. "So, about Eve and Noah..."

"They were sent to Azkaban?" Scorpius asked, his heart sinking.

"Not quite," Draco responded as he walked over to the front door and pulled it open. "They'll be staying with us until then."

"Eve!" Scorpius exclaimed with a smile before running up to her and grabbing her into a hug.

What he really wanted to do was grab her and kiss her but after the way they left things when he last kissed her he thought better. He wasn't even sure if they were on the same page as far as feelings go, in fact, he wondered if hugging her right now was a mistake, but he couldn't help how happy he was to see her.

Eve was relieved when she felt Scorpius grab her into a hug. After everything that was being said about her and Noah and what went down at Adwell labs, she wasn't sure where anyone's head was at. She was just thankful that Scorpius was still kind to her because she definitely felt a certain type of way about him.

"Are you sure this is alright? Noah and I understand If any of you aren't comfortable with us staying here." Eve asked.

"Are you kidding? This is awesome." Ellie said with a wide smile. "Come on Eve, I'll show you to your room." She said excitedly as she motioned for Eve to follow her.

Eve exchanged a small smile with Scorpius before following Ellie upstairs.

"Scorpius? Can I trust you to show Noah to his room without either of you trying to kill each other?" Draco asked.

"No promises." Scorpius shrugged before waving Noah over to follow him, who smirked at his comment.

Scorpius led him upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms and watched him walk into the room and glanced around it for a moment before turning back to him.

"How's Ember?"

Scorpius met his gaze for a moment before Noah broke his and looked at the floor. "She's hanging in there. She's awake."

"She is?" Noah asked, his eyes snapping back up to his to see if he was serious. "That's great..." he trailed off a bit.

Scorpius just nodded before watching Noah take a seat on one of the chairs in the room. He watched the internal struggle he was having, and it just made the tension and awkwardness of it all that much worse.

"Listen Noah..." he walked into the room and sat in one of the other chairs across from him. "Sorry I almost killed you."

Noah just stared at him for a moment, surprised by his words.

"Now, I don't apologize for what I did... I'm glad it was quite painful because you deserved it. I'm just sorry that it almost cost you your life." Scorpius added with a smirk.

Noah just scoffed at his words before a slight smirk also crossed his lips. "Well, you're right... it was well deserved."

"And look at us now... living under the same roof. Now just wait until Ember comes home and things will be really fuckin awkward." He sarcastically teased before giving Noah a hard slap on the back and leaving the room.

* * *

Draco gave a quick hard knock on Riley's door and opened it after not receiving an answer.

"Riley?"

He gave a quick glance around the room before finding her curled in a ball sitting by the window. She was so deep in thought that she jumped when she felt Draco gently touch her arm to get her attention.

"Dad, sorry, I didn't hear you." She explained, her heart racing from how startled she was.

"It's fine, are you ok?" he said with a small smile at how hard she jumped.

She quickly nodded.

He sat down beside her, guilt filling his heart as he thought back to how he acted the past two days and wasn't there for her. "I'm sorry Riley... I'm sorry I wasn't-"

"It's ok. Please don't apologize Dad." She cut him off before looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I understand."

Hearing Riley tell him that she understood what he was going through killed him inside. He always hoped his children would never feel or experience anything like what he had gone through both when he was younger and even now. It was the hardest thing physically, emotionally, and mentally he had ever endured and to know that Riley and the rest of his children had been through hell the past few weeks made him feel like a failure as a father.

He pulled her tightly into a hug and hoped that any emotion he was feeling wouldn't slip out. He wanted to be strong for her... for all of them. "Here, let me take that off for you." He said as he gestured to the device on her wrist and went to reach for it.

She quickly pulled her hand back. "No!" she shouted, fear filling her eyes.

Draco paused and just stared at her, his eyes taking in the burns on her hands and wrists. He slowly reached out his hand for hers. "Let me see." He said softly.

Her lips trembled and her watery eyes finally spilled the tears they had been holding in. She hesitantly placed her shaking hand in his palm before she felt him gently wrap his fingers around it.

"I'm afraid Dad." She whispered through her breaking voice. "I don't want them to surface. I wasn't ready for them... they forced them out..." she trailed off as she started to cry. "It hurts so bad. They just kept putting me under that curse... it was so painful..." she started sobbing uncontrollably at this point.

Draco felt frozen in place, he didn't expect Riley to open up to him like this and she was letting it all out. He wasn't sure if he himself would be able to hear her talk about it or if he was ready to face it. He almost felt like getting up and running from the room, but when he felt her trembling hand in his and heard her agonizing cries reach his ears he snapped out of it and pulled her to him.

"It's ok, you're safe now." Draco choked out. "You're going to be ok." He reassured her. After he heard her cries die down he pulled back and grabbed her small face in his hands and kissed the top of her head. "Go wash up and head down to dinner in a bit...ok?" he said with a small smile.

She wiped the remainder of her tears aside before making her way into the bathroom. Once Draco was sure she was out of sight he released this emotional sigh and felt the lump in his throat grow. He quickly left her room and made his way towards his. He burst through the doors to his bedroom so abruptly that he almost slammed right into Ginny.

"Hey you." She said with a wide smile.

He barely looked at her as he turned away and kept walking towards the bathroom. Ginny quickly grabbed his arm before he could get any further and pulled him back towards her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she tried to get a look at his face, but he kept it down. "Draco?" she called his name, her voice so soft and filled with love as she placed a hand on each side of his face. "Look at me."

He kept his eyes closed, hoping his tears would stay in, but her gentle touch and sweet voice made it so easy for him to be vulnerable. He opened them and looked at her. "Riley... she... she was telling me some of the stuff she had to go through in that place..." he shook his head at how horrible it must have been for her.

He roughly rubbed his face and let out a frustrating growl and he turned away from her again. "I just hate that I wasn't able to-"

"Draco, stop that." She demanded as she grabbed his face again, this time more firmly. "I hate that our children had to endure something so horrific, but I am so proud of them and us because they were able to survive this. Stop feeling like a failure as a parent, stop feeling pathetic every time your emotions surface... we are human. I like to think our children survived out there because of how we raised them. You saw them back there... how amazing they were." She said with a tearful smile when he looked back up at her. "We're doing pretty damn good I think." She said with a nod so that he would agree with her and after a moment he nodded as well.

"They are pretty badass." He said with a smirk.

She gave a small giggle before she felt Draco grab her hand and look at her wrist.

"The bracelet... you're still wearing it? Riley won't take hers off either."

She slowly pulled her wrist back from his grip. "I'm sorry Draco, I just want to be sure I'm in control before I take it off."

"But you won't know if you keep it on."

"True, but I thought I would follow the Ministry's direction for now. Eve is staying with us right now too so I thought she could help me again... she could probably help Riley too."

Draco tried to understand her way of thinking, but he didn't want to see anything holding Ginny back or making her doubt herself.

"Hey, don't overthink it Draco. You realize where we were just a couple of days ago and where we are now? I am so happy to be home with my family and Ember will be home soon too. Leaving a measly bracelet on for a while longer is more than ok with me than being locked up and experimented on. Don't you think?" she asked with the slightest bit of amusement in her voice.

He finally smiled at her and agreed.

* * *

Eve wrapped her fingers around the stone attached to the necklace in her hand. She looked at the metal bracelet laying on her side table that Draco took off her. It was a great feeling to know he trusted her enough to not wear it, but she still struggled a bit with how quickly her powers could grow. She felt comfort in wearing the necklace Scorpius made her and laid it out on her dresser to try and fix.

She heard a knock and gave a small sigh before walking over and opening the door.

"I brought you something to eat," Scorpius said, holding out a plate of food for her. "You know you and Noah could've joined us for dinner."

"Thank you." She said, her voice timid. "Well, it was your mum's first night back and I thought you'd all want to be together as a family. I just don't want to intrude... and Noah wouldn't have gone down to dinner whether I was there or not," she said, her voice turning sad.

Scorpius just studied her face for a moment as she spoke, her eyes fixed on the plate of food in her hands. She walked over and placed it down beside the necklace.

"Do you want me to fix that for you?" he asked as he noticed the broken chain.

"If you don't mind, then sure."

He pointed his wand at the chain and repaired it before tapping the stone, making it turn to a purple color. "There, now it will match your eyes when your powers surface."

Her eyes met his at the small gesture and she suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Here, I'll put it on for you." He said and leaned forward wrapping his arms around her neck to clasp the chain.

Eve let out a shaky breath as she felt his hand graze her skin and his scent fill her nose. She couldn't help the goosebumps that covered her body when she felt his breath hit her neck. She felt silly for thinking if what she felt whenever Scorpius was around her was normal or something more.

She felt him gently pull her hair through the chain before centering the stone on her neck. "There... perfect."

She wanted him to kiss her but then kept thinking about how he had only originally kissed her as a favor. She was pretty sure when they shared a more intense kiss that he felt something like what she felt for him but these kinds of emotions and feelings were new to her so she wasn't sure if she should trust them.

"How's Raven?" she suddenly asked. "Have you seen her since..."

He finally lowered his gaze and shook his head. "No... I wasn't sure what to say to her."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"You should go see her if you're able to... offer your condolences." She suggested.

He nodded before they both grew quiet again.

"Eve?"

She felt her heart race at the sound of her name leaving his mouth. "Y-yes?"

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again as he seemed to rethink what he was about to say. "I'm just really glad you're here and not in Azkaban." He said in a bit of a rush; it was obvious that wasn't what he originally intended to say.

"Me too." She said.

He reached forward and hugged her tightly, the feel of his hands holding her made her want to cry. It was a feeling she never felt before but didn't realize she had been missing all this time. She loved how Scorpius made her feel, she felt like a person, like she deserved happiness and kindness from others. He just made her feel alive and a little more confident in herself and she loved that feeling. She never had anyone make her feel like she was worth anything more than a test subject or a servant.

She hugged him back this time and she was fine if he wanted to stay like this forever. "Thank you, Scorpius."

He pulled back a bit to look at her. "For what?"

"For being kind to me."

She saw his eyes travel down to her lips and she felt her body start to ache for him. She wanted to read his mind and hear what he was thinking, but for some reason, she couldn't concentrate enough to hear a damn thing.

His eyes snapped back up to hers. "See, it does match your eyes." He said with a smirk as he took in her purple pupils.

She pulled away from him and quickly gripped the stone in her hands to calm herself. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Thank you for fixing my necklace." She quickly said as she broke all eye contact with him and opened the door for him to leave.

He walked past her and stopped in the doorway. "Goodnight Eve."

She just stared at him again but speechless this time and watched him walk down the hall. Once he was gone she closed the door and rested her body against it before sliding to the floor and letting out a loud groan.

* * *

"Finally got Ava to fall asleep again," Ginny said as she quietly closed the bedroom door behind her and walked over to the vanity. "She's getting sassy that one." She shook her head with a slight smirk.

"Yeah because she takes after her mother." Draco teased as he watched Ginny grab the lotion off the table and start rubbing some on her hands and arms.

He forgot how much he missed just watching her. Sometimes he still couldn't believe she was his.

"Blame me all you want, but it's that Malfoy sense of entitlement and arrogance that turns all our children." She said with a small giggle.

She went to shake her lotion bottle in an attempt to get some more out to rub on her legs when she felt Draco grab it from behind her. She turned in her chair to him as he squatted down in front of her. She watched him squeeze some out into his hand and toss the bottle aside before his eyes locked with hers. She felt his hand pull back her silk robe before he rubbed his hands together and then ran them up one of her legs. She felt her breath catch in her throat as he massaged her leg up to her inner thigh, his eyes never leaving hers.

He slid his hand down the length of her leg once more and then back up, this time slipping it under her nightgown. He grabbed her ass and pushed her towards him while grabbing her other leg and dragging her and the chair closer to him. Each of his hands slid to the small of her back and then up her spine sending a shiver throughout her body. As her body trembled beneath his touch and she arched her head back a bit, she felt his lips on her neck. The sudden contact of his lips on her skin made her release a small gasp making him move his lips to hers. He hungrily kissed her so roughly she thought she would fall back off the chair.

She could hardly control herself at this point as she reached forward to release his throbbing erection from his pants. She felt Draco yank her up from the chair and kick it aside before he pinned her against her vanity table. Neither of them cared when half of the bottles of perfume, lotion, and other miscellaneous objects were knocked off onto the floor. She felt his mouth cover her now exposed breast as her nightgown barely covered her. She ran her fingers through his hair and grabbed a fistful when two of his fingers slid inside her.

She let out a pleasurable growl as she pulled his head up to look at her and crashed her lips to his. She felt his hips push between her legs as she propped herself up on the vanity table behind her and felt the cold mirror against her exposed back. She dug her fingers into his back as she begged him to enter her and when he finally did she swore her entire body was going to melt into this pleasurable puddle in his arms.

She felt the mirror behind her suddenly crack but it didn't stop either of them from continuing. At one point there was a noticeably loud cracking sound coming from the table beneath them that Draco was savagely fucking her against. Ginny placed a hand on the table at an attempt to adjust herself from slipping off the edge when she felt the table turn cold beneath her.

She thought it was Draco's powers but when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up she pulled back from the fierce kiss they were sharing. She picked her hands up to look at them and went to place them on Draco's exposed chest when he gave a small hiss as a small shock formed as she touched him.

He just looked at her and watched strands of her hair start to stand up. His fingers and palms started to tingle as he held her close to him and they both jumped when one of the lights in the room gave a loud pop. His eyes searched hers to make sure she was still herself and in a good mental state. He was relieved to see she still had those beautiful amber eyes staring at him, but they were filled with some fear. He didn't want her to be afraid of her powers, especially since she was going to have to learn how to control them.

He could tell she was more scared because she thought they were gone for good but by the feeling of electricity that still ran through her body and taking in the table beneath her that turned to metal, he could see that wasn't the case. He was also a bit alarmed at the fact that her powers were so strong even when she still wore the bracelet.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, his heavy breaths hitting her face.

After a moment she nodded then felt Draco getting ready to pull away, but she grabbed him and had her lips on him once more. She could feel his hesitancy and she pulled back and just stared into his eyes before a wide smile stretched across her face.

"I love you." She softly spoke, her hand gently caressing his cheek.

He could feel tiny tingling sensations beneath each of her fingertips on his skin and it just made him want her even more. His eyes were completely locked on hers and all he could hear was the sound of his breathing ringing in his ears as her words swallowed him. He adjusted to her surfacing powers and covered his lips with her again, this time his kisses were strong and powerful as he continued thrusting into her. He was so lost in the moment with her he didn't care if it killed him to keep her close to him.

The amount of passion and pleasure between the two of them made the world around them completely disappear. Every time she felt Draco push harder and faster into her she could feel her mind want to wander, but just as much as he made her lose control he also helped her regain it.

Her grip on him tightened as he felt her release around him. The sound of the rest of the lights in the room popping made him pull her closer until the room and house went completely black as his thrusts finally slowed down. He kept his arms around her and just held her there, listening to her heavy breaths get lighter.

She could see his mercury eyes staring at her through the dark room and she could tell he was smiling at her. The sound of a loud knock on the door pulled them both from the trance they found themselves in as they got lost in each other's eyes.

"Can you two stop doing it so we have the lights back!" called Ellie through the door.

Draco felt Ginny's body start to shake with laughter as she tried to stifle her giggles. "What do you mean? We're not doing anything in here. We're just sleeping!" he called back out to her.

"Yeah, yeah!" Ellie called back out as she made her way back to her room.

Once they heard Ellie walking away they both started laughing out loud before Ginny walked over to the lamp beside her bed and touched it with her finger. In a matter of seconds, the whole Manor was lit up again.

"By the way," Ginny said as she walked back over to Draco. "You didn't put lotion on my other leg," she said with a smirk before he scooped her up into his arms and threw her on the bed.

* * *

The next morning things around the manor seemed almost completely back to normal. Draco could definitely feel a difference as he walked through the halls down to breakfast. Between the smell of food filling the air and the sound of his children bickering from the dining room he felt like everything was as it should be now. He was excited to bring Ember home from the hospital today and decided she would finish her healing here at home and have a MediWizard come to the manor. He just hated the thought of her lying alone in some hospital bed while they were all at home together. As excited he was to have his daughter coming home, he was unsure of her mental state.

He was passing Noah's room on his way down and saw the door was still closed. He knew Noah hadn't left it since he and Eve arrived yesterday. He lifted his fist to knock and hesitated for a moment, unsure if he himself even knew what he was going to say to him. After another moment of hesitation, he finally gave a light knock. It was a few seconds later when Noah opened the door.

"Draco? I mean... Mr. Malfoy-"

"Draco is fine." Draco cut him off. "Uh, what are you doing? Why don't you head downstairs for breakfast?" he suggested.

Noah just looked at him before turning and walked back over to the couch and plopped down on it. "I'm not hungry." He simply said with a shrug.

Draco just watched him for a moment, his mind going back to the day in the lab when Noah frantically begged him for help. The fear in Noah's eyes and the look on his face wasn't something Draco would soon forget.

"Well, since I get to be your babysitter for the next few days I insist that you come down for breakfast."

Noah just stared at him for a moment to see if he could pass on breakfast once more, but the look on Draco's face made him just shake his head and make his way downstairs. It was awkward silence most of the way down until Noah broke it.

"Uh, do you think..." he trailed off as he thought about his question.

"What?" Draco asked.

After a moment Noah continued. "Do you think I might be able to stop at my house later and grab a few things?"

The question was hard for him to ask for two reasons, first, he didn't want to inconvenience Draco and his family any more than they already were with him and Eve being there but second because he was anxious about returning home. There were a lot of not so fond memories there and after everything that happened to him at the lab, he thought of his home a lot differently now.

Draco was surprised at his question and he couldn't help but feel for Noah. He could relate to everything Noah had gone through his entire life and even what he was going through now. He was in no way defending his actions or the way he treated his daughter, but he knew what it was like to feel pressured into walking a certain path. He also knew too well the consequences of not following it.

"Of course, we'll head over there this evening."

* * *

Scorpius stood outside of the Zabini household and listened to the sound of the doorbell ring out before taking a step back and letting out a hard sigh. Seeing Raven again after everything that happened was making a lot of emotions surface for him. It had only been a few days since he saw her last but now here he was with a focus only on her which was forcing him to have to deal with all those feelings.

"You must be Scorpius." Came a woman's voice, pulling Scorpius from his thoughts and looking up at her.

"Oh, uh-"

"I'm Raven's mother, Iris." She said stiffly as she held out her hand to shake his.

"Oh, n-nice to meet you." He quickly stumbled for words before taking her hand.

He had never met Raven's mother and didn't expect to see her greeting him. She was wearing a slight smirk as she glanced over him from head to toe.

"Raven's upstairs in her room packing if you'd like to say goodbye." She said before turning away.

"Goodbye?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She turned back to him. "Yes, Raven will be moving in with me."

He just looked at her for a moment before finally stepping into the house and looking up the flight of stairs to where he knew Raven's room to be. He couldn't help but feel for her right now even though she had hurt him like she had. He knew how hard it must be for her to see her mother again after the way she left her and her father. He also knew it must be killing her to have to live with her mother now after she had caused them so much heartache.

He finally came to her bedroom and saw her packing a suitcase through her cracked door.

"Raven?" He softly called before giving a light knock and pushing the door open bit.

She snapped her head up at him. "Scorpius? Uh, what are you doing here?" she quickly asked as she wiped the tears from her already puffy eyes.

He just stared at her, his heart aching for her and the pain she must be feeling right now. "I wanted to see how you were holding up."

Her lips trembled as she tried to hold herself together, but she lost control of her emotions and broke down in front of him. His instinct was to hug, and he did; he couldn't just watch her cry and not try to comfort her. As angry as he was and hurt at what she had done to him, he still had a lot of history with Raven and in some ways still cared about her.

"I'm sorry Raven, I know how much this must be killing you."

"She has hardly acknowledged his death... how could she be so cold? They were together for so long." She cried into his chest.

He let her cry for as long as needed until she finally calmed down a bit and looked up at him. The look she gave him made him pull away and take a step back.

"Maybe your mother just doesn't know how to handle it right now." He suggested.

She just shook her head at his words in disagreement. After a few moments of silence between them, she finally looked at him once more. "You were right Scorpius."

"About what?"

"About me... I'm just like my mother... "

"No-"

"I am... I think we both need help right now. Maybe my mum and I being together again is what's best?"

"Maybe."

Her eyes met his as they welled with fresh tears. "I'm going to miss you and... I'm so sorry I hurt you."

He hugged her tightly once more before placing a kiss on her forehead and pulled away once more. He reached up to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear and wipe away some of her tears.

"Goodbye, Raven."

* * *

Ringing... it was the only thing that was filling her ears right now as she stared into the foyer of the manor. She wanted to be happy to be standing in her home again, but everything seemed so much different now... so unfamiliar.

"Ember?"

The sound of her mother's voice cut through the loud ringing in her ears and made her turn her head towards Ginny.

"Come on, let's get you into bed so you can rest," Ginny said as she stood beside her to help escort her there.

Ember looked at the crutch she had placed under one of her arms and just found herself staring at it for a moment. Her eyes traveled over to the sling her arm was in and felt herself go numb. She felt her mother try to guide her inside when she didn't move or answer her, but she soon realized the crutch wasn't helping her much as she winced in pain.

She didn't want to verbally admit defeat as she realized she wouldn't be able to get to her room on her own. Instead, she just stood there as she felt her mother's eyes on her. She soon realized her father was beside her and felt him gently scoop her up into his arms and carry her to her room.

She noticed her sisters making their way down to her, but she buried her face into her father's chest in an effort to avoid them. There was just no way she could face them right now. She felt like facing them would make her have to face what she had been through and that was something she was nowhere ready to deal with yet.

She lifted her head a bit when she realized her father was carrying her to one of the guest rooms downstairs instead. Draco sensed her confusion as he carried her into the room and placed her on the bed.

"Your mother and I thought it best if you were on the first floor. This way you can be a little more independent and get to the kitchen and join us for meals... stuff like that. I think the stairs are going to be your biggest enemy right now." Draco said with a small smirk.

She hardly reacted to what he said.

"If you want I can bring you upstairs, I just thought-"

"It's fine." She barely whispered.

"You sure, Sweetie?" Ginny asked.

Ember gave a small nod before letting her mother help her lay back on some propped-up pillows.

"Uh, Ember... there is one thing I need to tell you." Draco started as he watched her lock eyes with him. "And it's completely ok if you're not comfortable with it."

She continued to stare at him.

"Eve and Noah are going to be staying with us for a few days... at least until the hearing."

He and Ginny waited for her reaction to what he had told her, but there wasn't any. Instead, she just looked down at her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt.

"We were trying to avoid them having to sit in Azkaban and the only-"

"It's fine... I understand." She said in a small frail voice. "I'm tired, I think I'm going to rest if that's alright." She said as she started to cover herself with the blankets.

"Oh, of course," Ginny said as she helped Ember get comfortable. She turned and exchanged a concerned look with Draco before turning back to her and placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'll check up on you in an hour or so." Ginny softly said before she and Draco left the bedroom.

They both stood in the hallway for a moment outside of the door and exchanged a sad look before Ginny shook her head. She knew this was going to be a hard recovery for Ember, physically, emotionally and mentally.

* * *

Eve stared at the oversized house before her; her eyes taking in every detail of it as she searched her mind for any memory of it. She felt a lump form in her throat as she followed Draco and Noah to the front door.

"Are you sure you want to come in?" Noah asked her.

Eve quickly nodded. She knew seeing the house her parents lived in without her would be difficult, but she felt like she needed to do this. She followed them into the foyer and watched Noah stop for a moment and take in his surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"Just... reminiscing." He said sarcastically as he looked at the spot where he laid beaten half to death by Scorpius last time he was here.

Draco seemed to pick up on this and cleared his throat. "Go get what you need."

Noah made his way upstairs while Eve continued to look around the house; her attention falling on a few pictures above the fireplace. Her gaze locked onto a picture of her mother, father, and Noah... all of them together. The picture was awkward, not a normal family picture where you can see how happy everyone was. It was apparent there was very little family atmosphere... she could see and feel it in the picture. Although it wasn't the most warming photo of her family, she still felt angry that she wasn't in it. She didn't think she could hate her father any more than she already did, but looking at that framed photo made her blood boil.

A large crack formed across the frame before it shattered, and the pieces fell to the floor.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked her as he joined her by the fireplace.

She made the photo float over to her before she took it in her hands. After studying it for a moment she ripped her father's face from the picture and threw it aside.

"I'm fine." She quickly said before folding the picture and pocketing it.

Draco knew she very well wasn't fine, but he nodded at her response while she kept browsing the pictures. His attention went to a door across the room which he had an inkling was Adwell's study. He walked over to it as his curiosity grew and went to turn the knob when he realized it was locked. He mumbled a quick spell to unlock it but found it was useless as he jiggled the handle again.

He quickly snatched his hand back as he felt the door start to shake and then suddenly rip from the doorway and fly across the room. The door slammed into a shelf where there were many figurines, books, and some more photos, making most of them shatter and fall to the ground.

Draco turned to Eve. "So graceful... Thanks," he said to her as he walked into the office.

He knew how upset Eve was, especially after her elaborate assistance with unlocking the office door. She followed him inside as they both browsed around, and Draco could tell right away why Adwell had kept his office secured. The office reminded him more of one of the rooms back at the lab. There were multiple x-rays and medical records scattered about his office as well as pictures of some of the test subjects he had worked on.

Draco walked over to the wall and pulled down a picture of Ember. He felt his anger grow at the thought of Adwell having her picture up on the wall along with every other person's life he ruined. He watched the picture ice over before he crushed it into a pile of icy dust.

"Draco... isn't this your...?" Eve's question trailed off as she picked up a picture from her father's desk and showed it to him.

Draco grabbed the photo from her and felt his lip curl. "Yeah, that's my father." He whispered before he looked down at Adwell's desk.

He started looking for anything with either him or his father's name on it. Sure, he figured his father and Adwell must have been acquaintances back in the day seeing as though they both worked at the Ministry, but seeing a picture of Adwell and his father together made him think they were more than that.

"Draco... look."

Draco looked at the one of the files Eve was rummaging through and his eyes went wide. There were more than just photos of Ember, but of his whole family, even Harry's. His eyes quickly scanned the notes throughout the file and some of the pictures.

"These notes... these go all the way back to when Ginny and I first discovered our powers." He said more to himself. "And these pictures... these aren't all recent, there are pictures of our families from years ago."

"What business would your father have had with mine? What would he have wanted?" Eve asked.

Draco was in deep thought at the question. "A long time ago when everything with my father was going on, during one of our missions Harry and I were captured. We were almost killed... we were tortured and beaten within an inch of death. I remember my father saying something about my powers being a waste and that "we" could've been unstoppable. My father wasn't a stupid man... if he wanted something he only needed to find the right person to go to in order to get it. I would bet anything he thought Adwell would be able to help him somehow harvest my powers."

As much as he was surprised to find his father was doing business with Adwell as far back as when he first discovered his powers, it wasn't hard for him to believe. It only added to the hatred he had for him and made it that much easier to deal with his death.

Eve was quiet. She wasn't sure what to say, the whole situation was sickening.

"You guys ready?" came Noah's voice from the doorway.

They both nodded.

Noah walked over to one of the x-rays on the wall and stared at it. He saw his name in the corner of it and felt his fist tighten. "Anything else you guys want from in here?" he asked before clearing his throat.

They both shook their heads and headed out of the front door.

"This is a lot of stuff," Draco stated as he saw the numerous bags Noah had.

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure I got everything out." He explained before he brought his wand up and pointed it at the house. "Incendio." He said with a sneer as he watched his spell fill the house with flames.

"Whoa, Noah what the hell are you doing!" yelled Draco as he grabbed him by the shirt. "Are you crazy!"

Noah shoved him back. "I DON'T CARE! I RATHER THIS PLACE BURN TO THE GROUND THAN EVER STEP FOOT IN IT AGAIN!" he screamed in his face.

Draco backed off at his words, each word he yelled filled with pain and fear. He could see the yellow in his watery eyes surface as anger filled the young man before him. Draco turned back to the now burning house that was engulfed in flames. He finally nodded at his words and glanced over to Eve who was on Noah's side. She had tears of her own silently fall down her face.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Draco said as he led the way down the driveway.

Noah felt Eve lace her fingers with his as they walked a few feet behind Draco.

"Will you help me with something?" Eve asked him suddenly.

He turned to her. "With what?"

She locked eyes with him before moving in closer. "I'm going to kill Father... will you help me?"

He stared at her for a moment before looking back at the burning house. "Gladly."

 **A/N: So there you go, what did you all think? Comments or any feedback of any kind is always appreciated 3**

 **Also, if you haven't joined my Facebook group yet you can find the link on my profile page. On there I post chapter previews and talk up my fics and anything new I might be working on.**

 **Thank you!**


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